Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Let's Play: Sekirei

Chapter I

People always say, "Appreciate what you have, because you never know when it can be taken away." 
What kinds of people? Usually the kind that have plenty to lose. Oftentimes it's just a polite way to say "Hey, could you kindly shut the fuck up? Your whining is annoying me."

That didn't necessarily mean the statement was wrong though. Life could be over in the blink of an eye. All that minute suffering kind of becomes moot when your mortality slaps you in the face and declares to the world its blatant intention to make you its bitch.

Perfect example; the situation I found myself in now. Even better, I could enjoy the fact that this was all my fault.  

'Yeah, I'm fucked.', is what I would of said, but I honestly couldn't find the strength to speak.  

Warm viscous fluid ran down my face, though I could only know that by feel, my eyes also currently not functioning as they should. My last clear memories being of skidding into the oncoming path of a black flame decal decorated semi-truck, the driver's pale slack-jawed visage I imagine a perfect reflection of my own. 

'I should of changed that tire.' She had been nagging me for months to get a new one, but me, being the cheapskate I was, had kept ignoring her. At the time when it had blown, it had been more plugs than tread. 

'I should of been paying attention.' Turns out scrolling through dank memes while careening down the road at 60 miles per hour wasn't the greatest idea. When my tire blew, I had over corrected. 

'They were pretty funny though...'

The icy feeling in the center of my chest had begun to spread. 

My thoughts slowed. It was getting harder and harder to put any one coherent thought together. 

'I wish..'

I died. 

Then things got better. Well, at least marginally. 

The first sensation to hit was the feeling of well, nothing. The lack of any sense reaching my vastly limited perception  was alarming. No touch, no smell, no sight, just myself and my thoughts. The closest thing I could compare it to was when I made the moronic decision to try synthetic marijuana back when I had still been in the military. The resulting trip had scared the crap out of me and sent me into a hallucinogenic hell. 

This was worse.  

Those aforementioned thoughts threatened to consume me and with nothing else to distract myself I soon lapsed into a dark melancholy. I could feel myself becoming unhinged, as there was no longer anything physical or 'real' to ground myself to. All the usual circus of negative emotions got their turn in the driver's seat, sadness, anger, fear and even fair jealousy. In fact I could almost perceive them as physical forces they took turns permeating my being in waves. 

Truly I do not know how long I languished there in the dark void. It was impossible to count the passage of time, as if that concept even meaningfully existed to me any more. 

Though it did end. And in the most spectacular of fashions! 

The first sign of salvation, specks of white dancing at the edge of my vision. My non-existent breath hitched as something came into focus slowly. Like a man parched of thirst, I soaked in the novelty of, well anything, as the lines slowly faded into existence, becoming shapes, then letters. 

"START" The plain white letters blinked hypnotically bright on the background of nothingness, the 8 bit style font slowly pulsing in and out of view in time to some unknown rhythm.  

Joy, was the only emotion that I could recall at the moment. Joy in the sheer revolutionary act of change itself. Though a problem did manifest itself. 

'How the hell do I press start?' I wondered, at a total loss on how to proceed. 

I thought the word, the concept, nothing.  

I was beginning to feel the temporarily hidden pits of despair bubble up again.

'Maybe it has to be said?' I grasped for straws, desperate. 'But how?' 

It felt like so long since I had entered this place. I had actually begun to forget about the feeling of, contracting my lungs, shaping my lips and moving my...tongue.

"Start." The rasping whisper shocked me, surprised that such an unfamiliar sound could be produced by me! Though there wasn't time to figure anything else as a new sensation grabbed hold of my form.

A crushing feeling, squeezing around every inch and crevice of my newly discovered body. All my organs moving toward a centralized point in a mad rush towards convergence. At the same time the phrase in front of me blinked out of existence and after a singular moment I was buffeted by an overwhelmingly powerful force. The feeling of movement. The direction uncertain.  

"WHAM!" The sound of naked flesh on rock accompanied the sting of an impact as I face planted onto the floor.

Overjoyed, I spent a moment smooching the smooth surface I found beneath me. Clinging to it like a long lost lover. Simply loving the feeling of being again. 

Temporarily convinced  that physical reality wasn't going to vanish all of a sudden, I sat up. It was then I first noticed that more than just the black obsidian colored floor materialized. More words as well. Though unlike the ones before, these had much more to say.

Garish neon pink symbols, which I sort of placed as Japanese kanji, sat above a smaller subtitle in blue letters. Underneath all that, a symbol, pink and shaped like a a bird or wings of some kind. The whole symbol rotated slowly a few feet above my head. The spinning logo was accompanied by-

"Music!" I excitedly exclaimed like a dullard, sure that if I had been less groggy I would of clapped my hands in childish excitement. The tune itself was unfamiliar, though like the symbol, tickled something in the back of my brain.

On wobbly newly created  legs, I stood and began to reach for the icon. It was only when I touched it and the darkened world was consumed in a brilliant white light that I caught what the blue letters displayed between my up stretched arms. 

"SEKIREI"

When the light faded I put down my arms. 

"Holy shit, I'm being ISEKAI'D?" I screeched. Quickly I clamped my hands over my mouth. Embarrassed again over my outburst. 

Out of all the possible afterlife scenarios, this wasn't one I had ever considered. I glanced fitfully around for any unfamiliar looking deities or otherworldly beings about to step in to introduce themselves and explain some grandiose plan.

Nothing.

I let out a sigh of relief. No R.O.B.S personally involved it appeared. Or at least they hadn't made clear their intentions to do so. The chances of being fucked with nonstop were thankfully slightly less in lieu of an apparently disinterested god. I somewhat expected otherwise though. In fiction, all powerful entities sure  liked to waste time gloating to mortals about their objective superiority. At least that's what the myriad of reincarnation fanfictions and mangas I had read in my past life had taught me.  

'Oh shit, this has to be a gamer system?' I cast around, partially distracted by a fully blown mind and an ongoing sensory overload. Focusing on my surroundings I was greeted with what appeared to be a partially transparent game menu. Big bold golden letters running along the top. 

"CHARACTER CREATION"

I will shamefully admit I fist pumped as my initial suspicions were confirmed. 

Yeah, I died horribly. 
But this was probably the best outcome I could of hoped for! 
After all, heaven sounded nice, but a never ending existence of pure bliss had never really appealed to me.

"Thank you Buddha!" I giggled like a child. Though I quickly schooled myself as I caught on to the strangeness of my own behavior. 

"Wait, why am I feeling like this?" I questioned out loud. 

Feeling this happy all of a sudden felt inorganic. I had just been ripped away from my life, from my family, from my entire world that I had ever known.

'Mom, Dad, I...' 

I couldn't remember their faces. I strained myself, I couldn't do the same for anyone else either. Oh, I could remember things, events, the feelings of love, incidents. But, faces, names. It was just a blur. 

I collapsed to my knees, suddenly not feeling so excited. Like something extremely important had been taken from me.  

"Why?" I croaked, "My name!" Even that, I found to be denied to me! Fat teardrops fell freely as the emotional enormity of what that particular set of facts entailed meant to me going forward 

'Am I even myself anymore? A copy?'

All the depression that I had experienced in the black came crashing back. Face to face with one of mankind's hidden fear I felt broken. 

The loss of continuity. To exist as we were and know that we will continue to do so in the future. I had puzzled over that question during my years of periodic soul searching, especially after I had returned from combat for the first time. 

Why did we fear death? Why did we struggle so hard to maintain our identities. What does it mean to exist? Surprisingly enough, I was helped along partially in that line of philosophical thought when I had played a simple video  game. SOMA. Kind of ironic that I would now be exploring those same concepts firsthand along the aspects of a "game". 

I wallowed in my misery for a good long while.

'Is that what this is? A lesson? A punishment?' I gathered my courage and wiped the tears from my eyes. 'I say I am, therefore it is, eh? I man with no name or history attributable to it has nothing to regret I suppose.' I searched my incomplete memories again, sifting through the love and good found within. 

Give a dying man hope and he would lap it off the ground. 

Give a dead man hope...

I slammed a fist into my palm. 

"Fuck it!" In the end it didn't really matter what I had lost, I was still kicking! Remember the good and push ever forward in the face of adversity. That was humanities creed!

'Though Sekirei? Uh, not sure about that...' I let the thought hang as I tried to recall I could about the aging manga series. Ecchi battle royale with alien girls acting like Pokemon? Annoying little bitch of a main character? Weirdly vague ending with a sappy happy epilogue?

I had actually enjoyed some of the fanfiction that I had read more than the manga itself. 

'Heh, Serial Killer vs Extraterrestrial Bimbos. Who would win?' Calming down a fair bit I stood up again and inspected the floating window in front of me. 

A series of sliders, buttons and toggles greeted me as I skimmed over the interface. 
Hair, eye color, nose shape, everything that could be expected in a system like this was present. 

I noted with some interest that two sections were greyed out. Those being "NAME" and "RACE". Selecting them didn't produce any results, but I was curious to see that my apparent new name was in Japanese! 

Which I couldn't read.

To the right, what appeared to be a large mirror, or screen, showing well, me. 

My familiar face peered back at me, blue eyes sitting above a pointed nose and two prominent tear grooves. There wasn't much I wanted to change, I was comfortable with myself. 

'Well, maybe my ears could be a little smaller. Eh and my nose is still a little crooked from where I broke it playing basketball. Oh and I suppose I could be a "little" taller.'

A number of hours later and a cross between  younger versions of Hatsumi Ren from Kengan Ashura and Ryoji Kaji from Evangelion stared back at me. Which was to say, like me. Just...prettier. And with blue eyes. I had even left the genital slider mostly alone!

Why Kaji and Ren? Long haired, laid back, cigarette smoking ikemen are bad ass, that's why! 

Satisfied with my choice, I hovered my hand over the "SAVE CHANGES?" button and pressed on it. I expected the screen to move to the next section. 

Too bad I didn't see it through, as I did not expect the shearing all encompassing pain to be forced upon myself, as my body shuddered violently, tearing itself apart and re-configuring it's shape to the newly selected specifications. I screamed as bones splintered and regrew, cried as muscles expanded and sobbed as my face rippled like water balloon before morphing into the slightly different visage. 

By some miracle I managed to stay upright during the entire torturous process and when I finally peeked out from between my forearms I saw the interface had changed once again. 

"LUCKY SPIN!" The banner proudly portrayed, underneath was a large window covered by a green shutter on and a large lever off to the side. A message box next to the lever read; "Reroll x 1"  

'What the hell is this?'  I was confused. Looking around, there was no obvious explanation of what this mechanism was for. Not like there was anyone to ask either. 

Anyways, the "CONTINUE" button was greyed out anyways, so not like there was any choice. 

'Here goes.' I gripped the lever and pulled. The shutter swung open with a click and the inner workings were exposed. Words spun by, hundreds of them. Hundreds. No, thousands. Too fast to read. I held my breath and soon the spinning began to slow and I could just make out a few of the passing options. 

'Geometry Tranfor-, Voodoo, Acidic Blood, Dodon Ray, golden lesions, ESP, incontinence- wait what the hell?' I suddenly felt clammy, as the realization of a granted boon being detrimental or downright icky threw a wet blanket on any excitement I had started to feel. 

'Nothing for it.' I steeled myself mentally as the object spun slower and slower, the ticking noise seeming to grow louder and louder as it went. It was as if the heavy burden of fate was settling roughly on my shoulders. 

With a final click, the spinner came to rest. I quickly threw up my hands as something was literally ejected from the screen alongside the blare of a trumpet. Spluttering, I opened my eyes.

"Confetti?" I growled as I spit out bits of paper. Indeed, I look at my forearms, which were absolutely covered in the stuff. And glitter.

Wiping the mess off, I regarded my "prize". 

"TALENT: STICKY PALMS LEVEL 1"

'Great, well maybe it's not so bad.' I resolved myself to give it a fair shake at least. Thankfully there was a description included. 

"A handshake worth remembering." I shook my head at the attempt at humor. "Allows player to extrude sticky fluid from their palms. Fluid is flammable and will stick to any surface. Weight limit: 20 kg"

I barely hesitated before hitting the lever again. What a lame power! I watched as the reroll counter shifted to zero. 

'Come on super speed! Super strength! Eye Lasers, whatever!' I prayed to whatever deity would listen, hand clasped and eye's closed. Suddenly this felt like the roll that would make or break my new "life". I could end up nerfed and fucked five ways from Sunday or I could be skiing down a greased golden boulevard into the arms of my deserved harem of thirsty waifus.

The blast of warm air and the bukkake of glitter clued me in that my fate had been sealed. One way or the other. 

With as much grace as I could muster I cracked my peepers. My hands were shaking which made me feel pretty pathetic.

'TALENT: KING ENGINE LEVEL 1'

"Nice! That's what I'm talking about!" I didn't remember hearing about such a technique before but it sounded bad ass. 'Let's see.'

"Inside the chest of some beats the heart of a champion...you are not one of those people. Effect: Allows player to loudly project the sound of their heartbeat in a 360 degree sphere from their body. Effective range: 5 meters."

You could charitably call what happened next me as "losing my shit."  Fortunately for my pride, I didn't have long to rage before the console collapsed into itself, disappearing all at once and leaving the place without light once more.

"Wha-?" 

A single notification appeared where the character creation had formerly been. One line in bright bold yellow. 

Then.

A pinch. All of my organs seemed to contract in a mad rush. That stretching feeling returning with a vengeance as I was swept off my feet and towards an unknown time and place to face this new reckoning. 

"New Quest Added:" 

"Win"

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Being born again wasn't so bad. In fact one of the things that I had feared the most upon entering into this insane adventure was the prospect of having to go through infancy. I would of much preferred the "drop in" method for my little isekai adventure, but the game had other plans. 

The reason why it didn't turn out to be as bad as I feared? 

Well, I barely remembered any of it! I don't know if it was a feature of this new body, an infant mind unable to process and retain as much information as a more mature brain was capable of, or maybe because I slept so much. Seriously, call me Rip Van Winkle, little me was literally sleeping the days away! One after another after another.

Those first few months were quite literally a blur in my memories. Lucky break too.

Though I did manage to learn what my name was at least.

"Nobe Sogen" that was the new me's name. I had heard the doctor that came to check up on me speak to my parents, "Nobe-san this" and "Nobe-san that" , it had been pretty easy to figure out my family's name. Sogen, I learned from listening to my parents themselves. Though it was only later I would learn the kanji used in my name meant "The sound that black-red wind makes", which was pretty cool. 

Only for now, the name I was usually going by nowadays was mostly,

"So-tan!" someone said my unbearably cute nickname and made a beckoning motion that was followed up by some words I didn't understand ending with", mommy!"  A young pretty, brown haired woman giggled as she knelt in front of me, arms open in encouragement "You can do it!" She cheerfully proclaimed, even going so far as to cock her fist up and down in excitement. She was wearing an apron covered with drawings of little bumble bees and a white bandanna that covered most of her straight dark brown hair. I knew that one, ganbare, though I would of gotten the gist of it anyways. 

In response to her encouragement, I grit my milk teeth. 

'Damn straight Mom!' I affirmed, pushing
myself harder than I ever had before. 

I was 7 months old. I had just come out of the haze that was my newborn life. Thank god I could properly form thoughts again and stay awake for more than an hour at a time! 

Wobbly baby legs were not going to stop me! My weak little hands gripped the nearby couch and I pulled myself painfully up, eventually rising to my feet as I tottered with the newfound sensation of bipedal balance. 

Tentatively, I placed one foot forward, testing the waters. 

'So far so good.' I was cautiously optimistic. This was farther than I had ever gotten before. A quick look at my mom spurred me on, her eyes nearly sparkling with pride as if she was witnessing something extraordinary. 

Not wanting to let her down, I took a breath and let go of the couch. I wobbled for a second, then brought my foot up even! Then the next step.

'I'm doing it. I'm walking!' I felt like a maniac, giggling myself to myself about something so mundane. A triumph at last! The sound of someone clapping excitedly didn't distract me, but the sudden feeling of jelly like weakness in my legs surely did. 

Too quick I was falling, my heavy over-sized baby dome heading straight for the hard carpeted floor. Well it would of anyways, if a set of loving hands hadn't scooped me up at the last second and brought me close to a warm and soft chest. 

"So cute!" she preened.

I looked up at the woman known as Nobe Kayano and smiled, instinctively returning an almost identical grin to the one gracing her lips. My second mother's eyes sparkled as she saw me smiling and possessively squeezed me to her bosom.

"Gaku, Gaku!" she called my new father's name and then followed it up with more Japanese that I didn't understand.

The heavy footsteps announced the approaching presence of the other occupant of my home. Standing what I would estimate an impressive 200 cm tall, my father, Nobe Gaku, was a bear of a man. Holding a dish rag limply in his hand he strode into the living room and regarded my mother and I.

"Oh?....Kay-chan?" even though I could only understand my dad's pet name for my mom, though it was obvious his deep baritone voice was full of mirth. I'm sure he was well used to my mother's exuberant nature by now. In response to his approach, my mother hoisted me aloft like a fisherman showing off a prized catch.

She cooed something excitedly and pinched my cheek. Whatever she said it must of been adorable because Dad laughed. 

My dad grinned and flexed his big brawny arm and said something!  

Not for the first time, I wished I had been reincarnated with a some innate knowledge of Japanese. My life would of been so much easier! Still, even though I hadn't, it was impossible to mistake the love and pride in my parent's actions.  

Big callused hands snatched me up and brought my tiny body all the way up to face my father. Blue eyes and deep tear lines marked a face that looked remarkably similar to the one that I had designed all those months ago. Short cropped black hair framed that angular face and stubble cropped chin. 

Smirking, my new Dad chuckled and regarded me with pride in his eyes. He declared something proudly and I could hardly keep from tearing up.

Most people were lucky to have one set of parents that loved them.

I guess in the end, this wasn't so bad after all. 

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Laying in my crib a few weeks later, I raised my head up and checked around to see if I was alone. The nanny cam was as always, present, but I wasn't going to let that stop me. I could vaguely hear the sounds of water running coming from our little apartment's bathroom, so I assumed mom was in the shower. 

Seeing that was the case I steeled myself. I had been working in strengthening my vocal cords by repeated exercise for the past few weeks. Though I had to admit it probably sounded like to those around me to be the inane babbling of an infant. Nonetheless, I was finally ready to try something that hopefully would prove to be enlightening 

My new "gamer" themed life was a mystery that begged to be investigated.  Not being able to do so had been maddening! So with an obvious struggle, my little chest took in as much air as it could possibly hold and I moved my mouth in a familiar yet distant way.

"Menu." the barely audible utterance that I managed to eek out was almost unrecognizable, but apparently the intention behind it was enough. 

With a snap, a semi transparent panel appeared in front of my vision, taking up almost the entirety of it. A cool blue, I noticed with some annoyance that I could still see the curtains fluttering from the breeze generated by my room's ceiling fan.

'So freezing time while using the menu is a no go.' Slightly bummed out, I turned back to the display and read through the information contained within. 

There were a number of options to choose from, so I picked the first one and maneuvered my chubby little baby arm up to where the button labeled "STATUS" was displayed. 

Selecting it I was rewarded with what I would call a character sheet if this was table top gaming. 

"Name: Nobe Sogen
Level: 1 (0/100)
Title: Reincarnate
Race: Human

HP: 10
SP: 10

>STR: 1 +
>CON: 1 +
>STA: 1 +
>DEX: 1 +
>INT: 1 +
>WIS: 1 +
>PER: 1 +

Points available: 8"

'Huh.' I thought to myself after reading through my newly revealed stats. 'No luck, other than that though, seems pretty standard. 1 intelligence and wisdom though? I-I don't feel any more of a moron than before?' Indeed it seemed that the stats were not affecting my mind or if they were, then I didn't notice. 'Or maybe level one was the starting reference? Maybe from the life before?' 

I had a lot of questions and was hesitant to make any assumptions about my current situation. A misunderstanding could be deadly after all and I could not rely on any preconceived notions that I might of held from before.

So I left the points alone for now, wary of crippling myself through impatience, and pressed the little arrow at the top left if the screen. 

Thankfully it did as I expected it to do and brought me back to the previous screen. I selected the one titled "Talents, Jobs and Skills".

Inside I was greeted with a tabbed page, with the first one being "Talents".  

I didn't know the difference between the three, but looking at what it presented me, I could guess. 

"> King Engine: Level 1

> Dungeon Create: Level MAX

> Dungeon Escape: Level MAX"

'Well it seems like two of the classics made an appearance. Sort of, name is different though.' That was good, the ability to fight NPCs in a world unconnected to my current reality would be extremely beneficial. 'But no Gamer's Body or Mind? Fuck.' The absence of those was a little problematic. No built in protection from crippling strikes or mind control meant that I was treading into the unknown here. I had no idea how the hit bar would work. For example, would a bullet to the brain simply kill me as normal? Or would I hang around, functioning like a zombie until my HP reached zero? 

'Best plan. Avoid finding out. Though Gamer's mind was always a little creepy to think about. Suppressing emotions in exchange for immunity from psychic attacks? Uh, no, I'll pass.'

Moving on, the last talent listed was "> Observe: Level 1". 

'So Talents must be inborn abilities, something that you just have. Which would mean that skills are something you gain through experience.'
I reasoned, feeling very pleased with my hypothesis. I paused for a second, almost expecting something, a pop-up perhaps... 

'Damn, I guess not.' I felt slightly disappointed at the lack of such, 'No easy stat point gimmes for being a smart boy I guess. As for jobs.' I tried to switch to the "Jobs" tab, but it turned out to be grayed out.

Mentally shrugging I switched tabs again this time to to "Skills". Completely opposite and unlike the Talents pages, there was so much information it took a second for my brain to process all of it. I cackled, my previous disappointment momentarily forgotten. 

"v SKILLS: COMBAT

> *^* Long Guns: 15 (Novice) *D

> Hand Guns: 35 (Journeyman)  *D

> Vehicle Mounted Weapon Systems: 88 (Legendary) *D

> Explosives: 26 (Journeyman) *D

> Unarmed Combat, Striking: 33 (Journeyman) *D

> Unarmed Combat, Grappling: 20 (Novice) *D

> Edged Weapons, One Handed: 10 (Novice) *D

> Blunt Weapons, One Handed: 12 (Novice) *D"

And so on and so on. From what I could see there were hundreds of entries and I had to reach up and grab at the scroll bar to get through all of them. Still, it took a little while to get to the bottom. Cooking and sewing, jumping and swimming, painting and fire making, even something like whistling. There were all types, all sorted into sections. It seemed that something had followed me over from my first go around at life after all. Though I didn't know what any of the numbers or symbols meant, some having what appeared to be a asterisk, or a chevron.  

Out of curiosity, I selected one entry under the "SKILLS: TRADES" sub-header, "Trade Skill, Weedeater: 55 (Professional) *D"

I could guess where that one came from as I had worked as a landscaper for a number of years after I got out of the military. Though knowing WHERE the skill came from didn't really help. 

Waving my tiny hand, eventually I managed to tap the ">" which turned into a "v" and expanded the menu. 

"v Trade Skills, Weedeater: 55 (Professional) *D
Skill gained from using a Weed Eater. 
Bonus - Clear surfaces 75% more efficiently. *Degraded (Skill unused for extended period of time, bonuses reduced by 75%)"

That was useful to know, though it wasn't very specific on how long an "extended period" was. A month? A year? I didn't remember the last time I had operated a weed eater, though it had been at least a year since I switched jobs. 

'But what does it mean 75% more efficiently? Off of what standard? And how do you define efficiency?' I pondered this for a while, before moving on. In the ens it probably didn't matter. I looked through a few other entries and came up with some ideas. It seemed that the Skills were rated as four classes, 1 through 25 as "Novice", 26 through 50 was "Journeyman, 51 to 75 denoted a rank of "Professional" and finally the remainder of the scale was taken up by the "Master" category. The buffs from what I could see were mostly promising "more efficiency" and were giving out percentages based on the four ranks 25, 50, 75 and 100 percent. Though there were some oddballs. Like the painting skill, which promised an increase in "impactful art".  There were also the ones marked by a star and chevron. I scrolled to the top and selected the entry on long guns. 

"v *^* Long Guns: 15 (Novice) *D
Skill gained from using long guns. 
Bonuses - Utilize long guns 125% more efficiently.
Reload speed increased by 25%.
*Degraded (Skill unused for extended period of time, bonuses reduced by 75%)
Rank: 2"

I checked the other entries that had the same chevron, they all had an additional bonus applied and the mention of "Rank: 2."

For example the skill concerning "Reading", which had two chevrons, had bonuses of 250% more efficient reading, 150% faster reading and 50% greater comprehension?

'Must be a promotion system or something. Tick over 100 and reset to Novice. Neat.'

I busied myself looking through all the entries that caught my eye. Eventually I noticed that there was a filter and sorting toggle at the top.

'Oh useful, let's see what my highest rank skilled is.' Maybe something I could build my "play style" around. 

I cringed a little at my use of the gaming vernacular. Perhaps the notion that this was real still hadn't settled yet even after all this time. So far, I hadn't noticed any difference between my old world and this one. Despite the game telling me this was the world of Sekirei, it was all too familiar. Other than being in a different country (With blue-eyed Japanese people, which was odd) and a foreign culture of course. No hint of super powered alien babes or anime styled hi-jinks. Of course, not that I was in any real position to tell. The only glimpses of the outside world had been through the window while sitting on laps or in my high chair. My parents never really watched TV and I was in no position to ask for them to switch on the tube. Seemed like we lived in a small town of some kind, as the windows in our apartment faced a big mountain and looked over what assumed to be the rest of the town. 

It was a little glimpse of freedom, in a world that both seemed at the same time as being too big and too small. 

I pushed those thoughts aside and sorted the skills by "Highest Rated". 

'Let's see, "*^^^* Miscellaneous Skill, Masturba-"'

'Goddammit!'

@@@@@@@@@

Growling, I glared at the little useless pieces of plastic as they slipped out of my chubby hand for the umpteenth time, the little piece of mashed carrot falling back onto the high chair's plastic tray.

"Uh oh, So-tan!" My mom laughed and pulled out a disposable camera. 

"Click!" I instinctively recoiled at the flash, rubbing my eye with the back of my hand. With the other I fixed her with the same glare that I had given the chopsticks. 

It wasn't effective. 

"Ah! So-tan is mad?" my mom put on a over exaggerated scowl and crossed her arms. She then turned side to side, saying something that I didn't yet understand. She was being cute, but I was still pissed.  

It had been almost half a year since I had first accessed the game's menu. Over a year in this new body and its blatant limitations were slowly starting to drive me insane. I was trying to keep busy mainly by attempting to learn Japanese and "Observing" everything around me. 

Speaking of which,

"Observe" I mentally intoned, having learned that I did not have to vocalize the commands to utilize talents. 

"Name: Nobe Kayano
Level: 7
Title: Happy Housewife
Race: Human

HP: 420
SP: 350

>STR: 4
>CON: 6
>STA: 4
>DEX: 5 
>INT: 10 
>WIS: 7
>PER: 4"

No matter how many times I looked at them, the numbers didn't add up. I had leveled up once already and as far as I knew you only got 2 points per. My mom's total points were 40, when they should of been 23. Though there was no saying that other people 's stats worked the same way as mine did. There was a theory though. Hopefully the extra points could be explained by "training" the stats. I knew my mom had attended college at some point, her graduation picture was displayed on the wall, so maybe her increased stats were from that? Time would tell I suppose. 

Along with the informational popup, my HUD also flashed into being when I used my talent It had faded from view after a few minutes of inactivity, though doing something game related would always make it visible again. That had been another discovery that had happened at the same time I had opened the menu for the first time. The HUD had first shown up when I had cast "Observe" that night for the first time. 

It was extremely simple. HP and SP represented as small red and green bars at the top left of my vision. And on the right, that was where notifications would appear. 

Notifications which were the main cause of my crankiness this fine day. 

"Current Quest: Finish a meal using only chopsticks. 
Reward: 10xp" 

'Yeah, screw you too buddy.' I internally groused, picking up the chopsticks and trying again. I had gotten most of the mashed food into my mouth, but these last few pieces had simply been a nightmare! 

I risked a glance at my mother. She was loving it. "Click" went the camera again and she giggled, winding the camera for another go.

The first quest had appeared a week or so after I had messed with the menu for the first time. 

"New Quest: Walk 2m without falling.
Reward: 10xp" 

As far as I could tell, there was no real rhyme or reason to them.

"Take a bath." or "Climb to the top of the couch." They could come back to back, or it could be a week or even two between them. Nothing had paid out more than 20xp, but for what I was being asked to do, that wasn't unexpected. 

When the first quest was issued, another menu selection had appeared. "Quests". 

'It seems the game is evolving.' I pondered, finally managing to pop the bit of carrot into my mouth, ignoring my mom's excited squeals in the process. 'What else will change?'

I idly regarded the chopstick in my hand, not for the first time thinking about if I was making a mess of this. Was I supposed to be able to do this at my age? I was already able to speak quite clearly and in complete sentences, but I of course didn't, not around my parents at least. How would anyone explain being able to speak as an adult would, and only in a language, English, that officially I had never been exposed to. So I acted how I thought a "baby" should. I laughed, I giggled, I (shamefully) soiled my diapers, I awkwardly and uncomfortably breast fed. I know that cognitive dissonance could force people to explain away a lot of stuff. My hardly every crying being one of those concerns.

But were my parents buying it?

My mom sure looked convinced, as she paid rapt attention to every morsel of food that I managed to pick up. It made me feel self conscious. 

Which was a feeling that I had to deal with alot. Going from a free spirited adult man to someone who was babysat nearly every waking moment of the day was agonizing.

'One day at a time.' I reminded myself, snatching the last bit of food and plopping it into my mouth. 

"Quest Completed!
Reward: 10xp"

'One day at a time.'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

That night as I lay in my crib waiting to sleep, I decides to do some experiminting. 

"Inventory." 

With a now familiar pop, a screen appeared. Though this one was not nearly as informative as the others. 

A black box, split into six by six squares. The only information being a fraction showing my allowable weight. 

".2/100kg"

Right now there was only one thing being stored there. It was represented as a small thumbnail showing vial of red liquid. That item which had been there since the first time I had opened the inventory months ago.

"Blood of the Gods
A vial of mysterious liquid of unknown origins.
Effects: When consumed adds player racial trait: Half Ashikabi."

I'm sure the face my little baby body had made would of been hilarious, as my eye's nearly bugged out of their sockets and I choked on a non-existent fly.

It was the first concrete tie to the main story. I had debated on what to do with it, but in the end I had just decided to leave it where it was. 

The calendar on the wall told me it was May 2004. The manga wasn't clear on what year the actual battle started, but I reasonably sure it wasn't anytime soon. One, I highly doubted the "game" would start the scenario while I was still crapping my pants and two; Tokyo, was still Tokyo and not the supercilious name of"Shinto Teito". How did I know this? Well, letters from my Auntie, who lived there and various government letters my parents received. I had had the idea to check, but hadn't been able to read the kanji on the letters. So I had grabbed the letter, stumbled over to where my mom was reading a book and pointed at the return address, babbling questionably as I did. Surprised, she had eventually pointed to two different symbols and explained something, I recognized the word for aunt and more importantly the city in question. 

That meant I still had time to plan. And that was also a weird feeling. I had never really been one to meticulously set goals for myself. Joining the Army had been a whim, one that I both regretted and benefitted from. Same with getting into my later jobs and the degree I selected in college. 

But here, I had an end goal already given to me. 

Win the so called Sekirei plan. Everything was going to lead to that. Maybe have some fun while I was at it.

'Maybe pick up some fine ass waifus on the way.' It was any red blooded man's dream after all, a harem of alien gals who were biologically predisposed to agreeing with the situation we would find ourselves in? Oh yeah, I had some ideas, two best girls that I had in mind. Not that my current body cared one way or another, but I had always been weeb dammit!   

Expectations and all that!

'Winning comes first though.' And it would have to. I didn't know what the penalty for failure would be, or even if there was one, but I doubt it would be pleasant. 

So I had to get this whole system figured out before showtime. Which meant a lot of trial and error. 

Taking a grape from dinner that I had hidden in my diaper (sigh), I held it up and pressed it against one of the empty boxes. For a moment there was a feeling of suction on my fingers and then the grape was gone. In its place the once empty box had a picture of said grape in it.

'Now we just have to wait.' I had already figured out that I couldn't store anything that I couldn't directly carry in my hands. My toy box hadn't budged. Even when I had manuevered the screen to touch it, nothing had happened. 

This new experiment was to see if time passed for objects inside of the inventory. Put a fresh grape inside, wait a week, take it out. Rotten? Time passed. Still fresh? Well I could save on electricity bills I guess. World's most energy efficient fridge. 

'Mission accomplished.' 

"Menu." my high pitched voice squeaked.

"Name: Nobe Sogen
Level: 2 (30/200)
Title: Reincarnate
Race: Human

HP: 45
SP: 30

>STR: 3 
>CON: 3 
>STA: 2 
>DEX: 3 
>INT: 2 
>WIS: 2
>PER: 2" 
 
I had a rough plan for what I wanted to focus my points on. Expanding the sub-menus next to each stat, had given me some idea of what each represented and seeing the way my HP and SP had changed told the rest.

STR or Strength, was "The amount of force the player is capable of exerting using their body" while CON or Constitution was "The expression of the player's life force and toughness." Admittedly, the first was more useful as a description than the second. 

'What the hell is "life force" anyways? That doesn't even make any sense. A knife in the gut is a knife in the gut, right? And toughness?' 

Anyways, Stamina came next, which was pretty simple. Physical stamina, though it also mentioned "Fighting Spirit". DEX meanwhile referred to Dexterity, which was described as "Flexibility and the speed at which the player can move their body." Intelligence diccussed something about "Information Processing Ability". Wisdom was the ability to retain information or accumulated knowledge. Finally, PER, Perception was listed as being involved with reflexes, basically being able to dodge and perceive fast things. 

So taking that all into account and what I knew of the Sekirei's fighting abilities, those three, STR, DEX and PER would be the most important in effectively combating them. Though I had no way to know how far the gap was. It could be impassable, as I couldn't really rely on the fictional media of my world to accurately reflect the reality of this one.

Though if the opening scene of the anime was anything to go by, Karasuba and the other one Neo'ing their way around a shit ton of bullets, I had a crap ton of catching up to do.

I sighed as I closed the window.

On second thought, better put a few more points in constitution.

Just to be safe. 

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

On a mysterious rocky island in the middle of the Sea of Japan, deep within a secure lab, something really bad had just occurred. 

Inside a sterile white room, a little girl, dressed in a black and white jumpsuit, knelt next to the corpse of a black haired woman. Her neck was twisted at an unnatural angle.

Toys lay strewed haphazardly placed around the room. A set of desks and chairs, Child sized, held coloring books and crayons.   

"Mama." The girl sobbed, trying to plug the falling tears with her little hands. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

The grey haired child continued rambling. Eyes unfocused and body trembling, her devastated likeness reflected in the large mirror. 

On the other side of the observation window a group of men and women made themselves busy taking notes and analyzing the situation. Various monitors gave constant readouts and a bevy of cameras recorded every angle. In the forefront of the group, three individuals stood out. 

Two, one man and one woman, wore lab coats and one had on what could be charitably called "fantasy inspired clothing".

"I suppose the surrogate program is a failure." The woman spoke, "Pity, it was showing positive benefits for endocrine regulation and behavioural improvements." 

"Poor kid." The lab coat clad man supplied. As he said it, he uneasily shifted from one foot to another.

"That 'kid' is a multimillion dollar genetic experiment that just threw a tantrum that killed someone by "playing rough". I don't know if pity is the correct feeling." The woman coldly stated. "Takehito-san, I thought you said your micro-adjustment process was showing results?" The man rolled his neck, a look of sadness on his face.

"It has. Number 04 has just been uncharacteristically resistant to the epigenetic manipulation process compared to the the others. She is closer to Miya in design than the rest."

"Miya?"

"It's the name No. 1 has chosen. It fits her right? She is showing further promise in socialization as well. In fact she made at least two independent decisions yesterday without prompting! I think we don't give them enough credit Takami-san, the sekirei."

"Careful Takehito-san, lest you end up like poor Tokui-san there." The scientist chided her colleague nodding to corpse through the one way glass.

"The gods were never meant to fraternize with lesser beings. After all what is the love of a mortal to those of on high?" The third figure interrupted, his whiskery voice full of passion as he stared at the scene. The little girl was clutching the corpse now, rolling her head along its cooling chest.

"Hiroto-san, what-"

"Just ignore him Takehito-san, he's worthless at times like this." Takami turned to one of the nearby technicians. "Gas the room and return No. 4 to containment."

"Hai!"

"And get someone to remove the body."

"Hai, Sahashi-sensei!"

Satisfied her orders were being followed, The lab coat wearing woman pulled out a voice recorder.

"December 20th, 1995, socialization experiment failure with Subject Number 4. Cause, excessive strength increases due to emotional stimuli. Recommend chemically induced stasis for forthcoming batches until 2nd stage tuning and adjustment can be given. Subject Number 4 to be scheduled for service as soon as possible."

By this point the gas had already saturated the room, rendering the little alien inert. Takami looked up and saw that Minaka had already headed for the door, audibly mumbling to himself the whole way.
She was about to follow him, when she felt a strong grip take ahold of her sleeve.

"All the translated text from Kouten speak of love, Takami-san." Takehitos eyes were pleading, "Do you ever think about what we are doing? Here and in Section Zero? What we are doing to the little birds and ourselves?"

Takami narrowed her eyes at him, quickly looking around to see if anyone had noticed. Satisfied their conversation had remained private she pulled her sleeve free from the grip.

"Science doesn't concern itself with morals, progress doesn't merit kindness Takehito-san, I suggest you remember that."

The white haired scientist frowned as his brunette co-worker walked away. 

Now wasn't that a disturbing thought?

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)  

'Yeah, somewhere along the way, I fucked up.'

It was over a year later, I had already turned two a while ago. I sat on my mother's lap, idly Observing different objects around the room. The skill was level three already and as a result showed a little more information than before. For example,

"Observe"
"Name: Tarui Motoi
Level: 8
Title: The Pertinent Pediatrician
Race: Human
Age: 45
Karma: 55

HP: 675
SP: 360

>STR: 5
>CON: 6
>STA: 4
>DEX: 4
>INT: 10
>WIS: 12
>PER: 3"
  
It had become a habit at this point, Observing everyone I came across. I hardly even gave it thought. The doctor currently in front of me was an example of an average person. I hadn't come across anyone who was over level 10. It didn't seem to be totally dependent on age either. I had seen old ladies at higher levels than young men and men roughly the same size and age walking next to each other with different levels. The karma function was also something I didn't really understand. Again it varied. My parents both had relatively high karma, but I didn't know what they meant other than an educated guess it was an attempt at a morality system of some sort. 

But anyways, I was just distracting myself from my current uncomfortable situation. 

"We're worried Doctor, my sister said he should be talking at least a little by now! But he isn't. Her boys were alre...."

'Ah, so that's what this is.' Unfortunately I guess in my attempts to not be conspicuous by speaking too well had ended up doing the opposite. We had come in for a regular checkup, but it had quickly devolved into this. 

Sure I realized when Dad or Mom were trying to get me to speak, or at least repeat a word after them, but I had been so concerned with "appearing normal" that I had just kept biding my time. 

"Well Nobe-san, it isn't uncommon to see developmental delays in children, especially in boys."

'Oh hell no.' My understanding of the language had been getting better, but I understood the English medical terms. My ire began to raise as my pride was scuffed. 

"I know Doctor. I know. It's just..." my mother paused as if considering her words. "he just acts so..."

"Take your time Nobe-san. Believe me, I have seen it all." The doctor gave my mom a reassuring  smile and I felt her shift my weight on her lap. Something wet dropped on my face. I looked back at her.

'Oh, she's crying.' I observered. Indeed my mom's eyes were red rimmed and full of pregnant tears. She clutched my arms tightly , to the point that if I was a normal toddler, I would of been crying from the uncomfortable feeling.

"He's just not normal Doctor!" Kayano practically shouted. Big deal in this country, especially to an elder. She must of been in complete distress.  

'Normal. Oh shit.' 

"He's always intently staring at things and when you talk to him, it's like he understands what your saying! Not like a baby either, like REALLY understands! I gave him normal chopsticks for the first time once as a joke and he just STARTED USING THEM! I thought it was cute at the time, but it ... he does things like that all the time! He never needs us to show him anything, he just does it! Like brushing his teeth or bathing, or changing his clothes. I worked in a preschool Doctor, half the stuff he does, kid's twice his age have problems doing! He almost never cries, not even when he falls down. " She was on a roll. Maybe I hadn't been as discrete as I thought. 

"Calm down Nobe-san. There has to be a.... reason."

"No, you don't understand! We even caught him reading one of my old books from college! It was a English to Japanese Dictionary. He was taking notes!" My mom pulled out a crumpled piece of paper from her purse. Indeed it had my chicken scratch writing on it. 

Yeah, in hindsight, I should of made sure that got disposed of....

The Doctor looked surprised and skeptical. He raised a finger to interject, but my mother didn't let him. She had obviously held this in for a long time and was in the process of unloading some seriously heavy emotional baggage.  

"We know he's special! And despite all that, he never talks to us! Does he hate us Doctor? He's two and a half, does our," she sobbed, "son hate us already so much? I know that's crazy, I sound crazy, but it's like he doesn't trust me!"

'THAT'S what she is worried about? I, I, oh.' I felt like garbage. I had stolen something from my new parents. The chance to ever have a normal child or a normal relationship between us. 

It wasn't really my fault, but it felt like it was. My new and old parents were good people and unknowingly making them feel like this made me want to throw up.

My mother had finished with her ranting, but was still crying. I could feel her chest vibrate with every sob.

"Well, let me make some calls Nobe-san. This is, uh, most unusual, I'll need to consult with a specialist."

'So much for seeing everything, huh?' I dryly thought as the Doctor stood and excused himself, telling my mom to wait there.

I waited until the door closed before I started to squirmed, trying to rotate my body to face towards my mom.

"So-tan, what, what are you doing?' Mom gasped, trying to keep her hold on me. A losing proposition, as by this time I nearly matched her in strength stats. Firmly but gently I moved her arms to the side and turned to face her. 

She looked like a hot mess. Tentatively, I reached up a tiny palm and rested it on her shoulder. 

"Sogen-kun!" Her eyes were watery and I felt my heart lurch again. 

'Fuck it, hiding this was always going to be impossible anyways.' 

"I don't hate you mom." I spoke clearly, unnaturally so, "Please, let's go home."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

I sat at the kitchen table, nervously twisting my hands. My parents both of them, were in their bedroom, discussing something. Undoubtedly myself. 

Eventually, the door opened and both of them filed out, their faces unreadable. I glanced back and forth between the two of them before drooping my head. 

Where they going to send me off to be studied? 

React with anger at being tricked?

"So boy, I heard from your mother that you have been hiding things from us? Care to talk about it?" Dad's face was like a rock, his brawny arms crossed in front of his barrel like chest, steely blue eyes boring a hole into my head. I shifted uncomfortably. Despite that I could see that he was aware this was an awkward situation.  

"Uh, I, I didn't want to worry you father." Thank goodness my Japanese had progressed this far! Otherwise this would of required way more effort in my part. "I didn't want you to have any problems."

"So-tan, what kind of problems could we ever have with you?" Mom's voice was much more caring than Dad's, though there was an undertone of curiosity expressed in the way she asked. 

I had thought about this on the ride home. I couldn't obviously tell them the truth. So I would go with the next best thing. 

Half of it. The half that DOESN'T paint me as an extra-dimensional freak. I made my voice as small and pathetic as I could, though that really wasn't hard. 

"I didn't want to scare you with how much smarter I am than normal kids." There, I said it. No going back now. Not that that was really an option since the doctor's office anyways. 

At some point I had closed my eyes. 

Strange as it seemed, despite the utter absurdity of the situation and them not being my original parents, I did feel a lot of respect and gratefulness for them. Maybe I even felt a little of the love a child has for those special two figures in their life. They were good people after all, so I was legitimately scared that I would lose whatever this relationship was. 

"You mean, my son, my son..." Dad's voice began to cracked, the emotion raw and apparent, "is a GENIUS!" 

I stared slack jawed as my usually stoic father giggled like a schoolgirl, wiggling back and forth in excitement. Meanwhile my mom rushed in for a crushing hug picking me up out of the chair before swinging me around in a circle. 

"Oh So-tan! You're so smart! We're so proud of you!" Meanwhile my father was on his hands and knees, weeping and clasping his hands in thankfulness. Mumbling something about "universities" and "scholarships" and "making grandfather proud!"

'Ah, yeah I guess I forgot about that.' I smiled as I realized that everything might work out after all. 

'Anime logic.'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

I sneezed as the fresh sea breeze brought the tickling scent of salt and seaweed into my nose. 

Shifting my Super Sentai themed fishing pole into one hand, I wiped my nose with the sleeve of my shirt.

"Bless you." My Dad supplied, looking at me out of the corner of his eye, a much larger rod hanging lazily in his grip. 

The two of us were standing together on a little pier that overlooked the harbor that gave our hometown its distinct shape. The skies were overcast. The pleasant sound of gulls calling overlapped with the crash of waves. It was nice.

Daisen was the name of my new home. A tiny town of 10,000 located in the Saihaku District, Tottori Prefecture, which overlooked the Sea of Japan. 

It was very pretty and much more pleasant climate wise than the swamps and steaming tropical beaches of central Florida that I had originally grown up in. The only thing being familiar being the seafaring culture. Fishing being a popular hobby and industry in both of them. 

"Your mother is pregnant." 

"Oh." 

There passed a pregnant pause between us. 

"I know you're only 4, but well we always wanted to have more-"

"Dad, it's fine, really." I smiled at him, a real smile. "Congratulations." I noticed the wary glance Dad gave me, but it quickly gave way to an easy smile. The big man and I didn't always get along, our unusual family situation saw to that. It was absurd of course, living with a preschooler who acted like he was a full gown man. But it had worked. Mostly. "Maybe you'll get a normal one this time?"

He chuckled at my remark, "Ah, ok good. Your're mom wanted to tell you earlier, but I thought this would be nice."

"Oh it is. It'll be good to have a sibling." 'Again.' I added silently, noting the tip of my fishing pole had dipped down. 

"Looks like you have a bite." Dad remarked and I jerked lightly upward, securing the hook. "Reel it in slowly now." 

"Mmm." I grunted, wiping the sweat off my hands on my yellow rain slicker. Slowly I reeled it in, keeping the line taught. 

"There you go, there you go! Just like that!" My Dad spoke encouragingly, reeling his own line in and setting the pole down in case he would have to give me assistance. 

I scrunched up my face in concentration, a battle of wills between myself and whatever was on the other end of the line. It was close, I could see the shadow of something right below the surface. Not huge but not small either. 

Seeing the size of my potential prey, my Dad moved to assist. His giant callused hands wrapping around mine and helping hold the handle. 

"Steady now, steady. Almost there." The fish was inches from breaching now, looked like a mackerel of some kind, about 10 inches long. It's blue scales and stripes flashing as a ray of sun broke through the cloud cover and lit up the ocean like a sparkling azure jewel. 

With a final tug...

The line snapped, the lucky fish escaping back into the dark. Almost as by providence, as it made it's escape, so did the sun, dipping back behind the clouds once again. 

"Aw, shame. I'm sorry we lost him. Do you want me to restring your line?" My Dad sipped on his can of beer, probably slightly embarrassed that we had lost the prize after helping.

"Nah it's alright." I watched as a notification popped up in the right hand corner of my vision. 

"Skill Up! Fishing"

"It's better if I do it myself."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

"Mom can I just exp-" 

"We're waiting for your father!" My mother hissed, teeth clenched together in a grimace. She was obviously pissed. 

"Well can I-"

"I SAID NOT NOW SOGEN!" I could practically hear the leather of the car's steering wheel creaking under her ferocious grip. It was the middle of a school day, August 2nd, 2010 and I had just turned 6. 

I was a first grader again.

Wow that was a weird thing to think. 

I had told my parents before entering school, I just wanted to have as normal a childhood as possible. No skipping grades or special curriculum. 

Part of me wanted to enjoy this second chance at childhood for all it was worth. 

Problem was, I wasn't a normal child. Problems were bound to crop up. Not that my grades were the source of my problem, they were absolutely perfect in fact. Turns out having an adult mind and a much higher than average WIS score was doing wonders for my ability to test well. Not that I really needed any augmentation to exceed at a course of this level. 

Actually that was kind of pathetic. 

Anyways, no this problem had sprung from a little altercation that had happened in the lunch room today. Just a small scuffle, nothing to worry about.  

"Totally not my fault." I whined under my breath, turning to regard the other passenger in the back seat of the car, "Don't you think so Emmi-chan?"

"Onii-chan! Onii-chan! Play!" Nobe Emiru clapped her little hands and then held them out, my 2 year old sister doing her best to be as adorable as physically possible. 

Like the rest of the family she had slightly darker skin than the average Japanese person. Though like our father and I, she also had bright blue eyes and dark brown hair instead  of black. She was wearing a red and yellow jumper and was oblivious to the trouble I was in. 

"Oh fine, if you insist!" I proceeded to play pattycake with her, occasionally missing intentionally, which would send her off into fits of laughter. "At least you're on my side." We switched to thumb war and quickly I found myself in a two on one battle for supremacy. 

An hour later and I was sitting at the dining room table, which was usually where I found myself if my parents felt I messed up somehow. 

My mom had sat me down, told me not to move from the seat and gone to prepare lunch for Emiru.  I mean not that she could really DO anything to me, at least physically.

She could however, guilt the hell out of me, even if she wasn't trying. So I stayed put. In truth I hadn't been this nervous since I had cut myself deep purposely for the first time and slowly watched my HP bar tick downwards.

Despite all of my shallow protestations, I knew what I had done was wrong.  

I sighed and opened my menu. 

"Name: Nobe Sogen
Level: 5 (325/500)
Title: Reincarnate
Race: Human
Age: 6
Karma: 10

HP: 250
SP: 250

>STR: 5
>CON: 4
>STA: 4
>DEX: 5
>INT: 4
>WIS: 4
>PER: 3" 

The low karma score kind of made my point.
  
The last three-ish years had been... productive. I had actually learned a lot.

I had confirmed that you could indeed score extra stat points by training. Running and the like increased STA, acrobatics and sprinting for DEX, weights for STR, studying for WIS and solving complex on the fly problems for INT. I still didn't know what increased PER or CON, but I'm sure I would figure it out eventually.

Then there were the other types of oddities that I had discovered.     

For example, my body was weird. Despite not possessing the "Gamer's Body", there was still more going on here than I had first assumed. 

For one, I never got sick. Ever. I guess my parent's didn't notice or maybe they were just appreciative of the savings on tissues. Who knew. 

For another, the cut that I mentioned earlier. It had healed itself. Which was freaking awesome! 

A little less awesome was it took almost half an hour to do so! 

It seemed that my HP did in fact regenerate, about a point every 2 minutes. Which was lame. But, it had healed it completely in that time, leaving only a faint scar behind. 

It did not however, regenerate bones. Again a lesson learned the hard way. Though I did gain a cool parkour skill from that hard lesson, one which I had not had from my previous life. 

Nearly scared my mom half to death though. 

Turns out the bone had to be set before it would begin to heal. Though whether that had to be done by an actual doctor or not, I didn't know. Once it had been set, it began to immediately mend itself. Which had been fun on our return visit when my parents accused the Doctors of ripping us off. Which had almost resulted in a brawl and gotten the whole family banned from that particular clinic. 

Fun.

Those experience had also taught me about how "Statuses" worked. When I was bleeding, "Status: Minor Bleeding (10s)" had appeared in the notification queue after I cut myself. I had continued to lose HP at a steady rate until 10 seconds had passed.

The broken arm resulted in a a different message "Status: Broken Bone (Right Arm, Limb Crippled)" 
Unlike the other status, there was no set expiration time. Though no damage was accrued, the limb had felt heavy. I could move it, but it was painful and I felt like I didn't have much strength available. 

These eccentricities applied to only myself though. I had seen my little sister bump her head  or my dad pull his back enough times to know that normal people in this world still healed the old fashioned way. 

'Don't worry everyone, the medical industrial complex is still safe! The insurance adjusters will not go hungry!' 

Oh and that grape I put in my inventory all those years ago? 

Still as fresh as the day I nabbed it, 4 years later. Time did appear to be suspended in the storage space.

"I'm home!" My father's deep voice sounded throughout the apartment. Dismissing the menu, I sat up a little straighter and watched as my mother met my father at the door, giving him a peck on the cheek and quickly engaging in a hushed conversation. I couldn't hear anything, but I watched as my father's face went from amused, to shocked, to enraged, to contemplative. All in the span of a few minutes. It wasn't long before he trudged into the room and pulled a chair opposite of me to sit in. He plopped down, the cheap chair groaning under his bulk. He was still dressed in his delivery uniform. Yes, my giant bear of a father was a Postman. Shoeless, he crossed his legs in a figure four and regarded me with a cool stare. 

Emiru started laughing at something in the background and broke the tense silence before it could begin. 

My dad sighed, got up and retreated to his bedroom without a word. I waited anxiously, not knowing where this was going. In the next room, my sister continued babbling happily, obviously enjoying whatever food my mom had cooked for her.  

Soon enough my father re-emerged, dressed in a grey-sweatshirt and jeans. 

"Sogen-kun, let's go for a walk." His tone brooked no disagreement, so I quickly hopped off the chair and followed him to the door. As I slipped on my shoes, I saw him slip a pair of dog tags into his jacket. 

That was my Dad's other job and the answer to where it was he disappeared to once in a while. I had seen the gear in his closet, turns out my old man was in the JSDF. As a reservist I thought, but I had seen his dress uniform as well, there were an awful lot of lightning bolts and parachutes on it. From prior experience, that didn't suggest "Big Army" to me.

Either way, I followed him out of our apartment and into the chilly autumn air outside. Thankfully I was still wearing my school uniform, which had a jacket included, so I wasn't too bothered. 

We walked down the street and I took note of Mt. Daisen looming in the background. About the only thing that was of any note in my home town. 

"Your mother told me what you did boy, but I want to hear if from you." Dad had dropped back so he was walking side by side with me. He was facing straight ahead as we moved, but his tone of voice showed that he was very intent on hearing my answer. I gathered my thoughts for a second before deciding on a simple answer. 

"I got in a fight." 

"Why?" he was quick to question and I shrugged my shoulders. 

"Some older kids were picking on one of my classmates, so I told them what I thought of their actions. They didn't like that, so four of them attacked me. I defended myself. That's all." Pretty much what happened, though of course I had had a few choice insults to dish out before the conflict had begun. 

Little assholes deserved every syllable.

"Defended yourself?" he sounded bewildered by that simple assertion and the confidence I put behind it. "Sogen, you broke two of their arms and gave the others concussions. We are lucky you were just suspended. If the police had gotten involved..." He left that thought hanging there and I cringed at the implication. "What were you thinking?"

I pondered that for a second. In truth, I wasn't thinking much of anything. In fact, part of me had enjoyed it, the violence. It was like a pressure valve had been cracked, an unrealized feeling of anxiety and anticipation being released. 

Beating up children made me kind of feel like a wretch, as technically as an adult I should of never stooped to their level. 

But god damn did it feel good. 

'Is this my "fighting spirit"? Or am I just fucked in the head? Or is it that I have power now and I desperately want to use it?' I didn't know. I had not dared to enter a dungeon yet, being too paranoid that my immature body would fail me at an inopportune time. 

Maybe it was time to change that. 

My Dad cleared his throat and I realized we had stopped at a park and he was still waiting for an answer. Walking over to a bench, I plopped down on it and considered my words carefully before replying. 

"It's not like I wanted to really hurt them. I just felt like fighting I guess. I don't know. Defending myself afterwards just felt like the correct thing to do."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Nobe Gaku sucked on his teeth in contemplation as he joined his son in sitting on the bench. He didn't really know how to deal with this.

Sogen was...special. He had always been. At times that had been both a blessing and a curse. Gaku didn't know if he believed in the supernatural but sometimes his little boy made him question that assumption. 

He had always been different. Especially when he had been a young child. Sometimes it seemed like he was born with the soul of a man twenty or so years his senior. And he was smart too, tearing through books at an alarming pace, even though neither of them had ever taught him to read. He had absolutely no problem with school either, never returning with a less than perfect grade. Though he had stubbornly refused their and the school's offers to advance him early, his reasoning being, "I want to enjoy a normal childhood." It had been hard to argue with that
. 
There was also the other odds things. Like him learning English out of nowhere and the strange micro-trances that he would enter into when he thought no one was watching. Then there was his physical development.  

Only six years old and already he was almost the size of a kid twice his age. He was also impossibly muscled for someone who hadn't even gone through puberty yet! And they had caught him doing calisthenics in his room more than once! The Doctor's they had consulted had been clueless, giving a "pituitary problem" and "abnormal hormone imbalances" as possible reasons for it. They had warned about possible sickness and other maladies that would come with that, but every exam and test came back clean.  

No, if he was brutally honest with himself, his son was simply a monster. 

His wife would of hated him for saying it that way, she was always going on how she was blessed with a miracle baby. But it was true. Though when he said monster, he meant only in body, his little boy was one of the sweetest and most polite children he had ever met. He got along amazingly with his little sister and only ever treated him and Kayano with love and respect. 
   
Well at least until today. 

He had heard second hand from Kayano, and she had heard it from the principle, but what he had heard had painted the picture of casual savagery enacted against fellow students over what should of been a common schoolyard brawl. 

'At least the brat didn't pick on someone his own age.' He thought grimly, deep down slightly impressed his 6 year old son had trounced a pack of middle schoolers. Still though, this had to be nipped in the bud. 

"You know, son, with great power-"

"Comes great responsibility, I know Dad, I read that comic too." His son interrupted him, quite uncharacteristically so.  'He must be hurting.' Gaku's face softened slightly and he started again. 

"Uh, no, I was going to say, with great power comes the urge to use it. It is only through discipline that we can learn to control those urges and channel that power towards something good." he looked at Sogen, but his son was still staring off into the distance, so he continued. "You know I grew up here right? Well, when I was your age, er, well a little older, I also was a lot bigger than my classmates. I was always having to act gently, or go slower in order to not hurt anyone or break anything. Your grandfather, my Dad, was a strict, traditional man, and he beat the importance of reputation and honor into me, but I wasn't allowed to beat it into others. It drove me crazy sometimes. When your big, sometimes you just want to show people that you can. That's why I had to find something to put that power into. I just had to find something to do that was a fit for what I could do. To do good things with it, instead of bad. I didn't understand that then but that's what a good man ought to do." 

He stopped, gauging the kid's reaction. 'Well at least he's looking at me now.' Internally he gave himself a thumbs up. 'Yes Daddy mode was successful!' Schooling himself and his feelings of elation, he continued. 

"When I was 14, I ran away from home. I was rebelling and couldn't stand to be in the same house as my father anymore. He had gotten too restrictive, too controlling and wanted me to go to school and get a 'respectable job', but that just wasn't me. So instead I ended up living on the couch of a dropout friend of mine and running with his group of friends. They weren't very nice people." He paused, debating whether to be more explicit. "They were impressed by my size and strength and wanted me to work for them. I did a few jobs. but well, the last one, I was sent to do something really bad to a man that had angered their bosses." Gaku hesitated, he hadn't told this to very man before, he wasn't proud of what he had almost become. "I was going to do it. I showed up at that man's business with my friends with full intention of doing violence. I would of done it too, but I never got the chance." This was shameful to be sure, but he couldn't help but try to keep his son from falling into the same trap he had! For a street gang, having someone like Sogen would undoubtedly grow into would be worth pursuing. 

"Why what happened?" He could tell Sogen was fully invested in his story now. 

'Good, maybe this will get through to him.' 

"Because I got my ass beat. We all did." He chuckled, remembering fondly the day his life had changed for the better. "A little old man, didn't even come up to my chest, beat the ever living shit out of my friends and I. All without even breaking a sweat." The big man looked up into the clouds, full of reminiscence of the past, " Kami, he was quick, quicker than anyone I had ever seen before or since.  Heh, I learned to take more stock in those old martial arts movies from then on." Sogen gaped at his admission, seemingly unbelieving that a single man could beat a group of punks singlehanded.. 

"Really? So this mysterious martial artist offered to what, train you?" He asked excitedly and Gaku snorted at his enthusiasm. 

"Well, no. After my friends had ran off, he held me back, foot on my neck. When we were alone he flipped me up onto my back and looked me dead in the eyes and said 'You have the heart of a warrior, but the head of a fool.' Then he literally threw me face first out of the dojo."

"So you went back later right?" Sogen asked, obviously expecting his to say yes. 

Gaku laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head.

"Eh, no. I guess he also made time to call the cops and after they arrested me I spent the next 2 months in juvie. After I got out, I was too embarrassed to show my face there again so I just found another dojo." He held his hands up in a placating, gesture, "But the point of that story is, I needed to learn patience and discipline. " he poked his son in on the forehead, "Look, good, bad, at the end of the day your actions are on you and you alone." Thinking he had gotten his point across, he stood up and offered his son a hand. 

"Now come on, I want to take you somewhere."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

I frowned as I followed my Dad through the town's streets again. I never knew those things about him. I always assumed he was as straight laced as they came. Sure he swore and drank occasionally, but young Gaku was a delinquent? That was news to me. 

'Hmm, it's been a while, Observe." Observe had leveled up recently so I was curious.

"Name: Nobe Gaku
Level: 10
Title: World's Most Deadly Postman
Race: Human
Age: 32
Karma: 100
Affiliation:  Japan Post / Special Operations Group, JGSDF

HP: 2400
SP: 1750

>STR: 12
>CON: 8
>STA: 10
>DEX: 7
>INT: 7
>WIS: 6
>PER: 6"
 
Yeah, Dad was a bit of a badass. The affiliation entry was new however. I was pleased to see that my guess of him being involved in some sort of special forces shenanigans was accurate. Never mentioned it though.

We marched through the streets for a good twenty minutes. It was still mid-day, so there was quite a bit of foot traffic moving around the market area that we were crossing. Not that it was a lot though. Daisen was a still a tiny town, mainly known for its Shinto Shrines and the mountain that overlooked it. Both were somewhat popular tourist destinations, with many onsens and inns in the surrounding valleys and woods. Most of the people worked in the the hospitality industry and since it was Autumn, there wasn't much business. 

Soon enough we reached our apparent destination, a dilapidated multi-story business building, with apartments taking up the upper floors. Blankets and clothing hung from the rusty balconies and as we turned into an alley, I had to dodge a mess of falling cigarettes and embers as someone cleaned out an ashtray. 

We stopped in front of a glass door that was backed by cardboard, preventing anyone from peeking inside. There was writing on the outside, but my kanji was still weak, so I could only make out the word "fight" or "battle" Grinning my Dad pulled on the handle and gestured for me to enter. 

I already assumed this was a gym of some kind, but the smell of sweat and old worn leather confirmed that. It was a smell that I hadn't smelled in a long time.  The dojo was large, but not overly so. The floor was covered with mats and there was a row of lockers the wall closest to the door. Various punching bags and martial arts equipment hung from the ceiling were tucked away into the corner alongside an eclectic assortment of weight equipment. The far wall had a row of mirrors mounted on it. The back wall had two doors, one on either side of the room, with some closets scattered around. 

A four post boxing ring took up most of one side of the room. Appearing to be regulation size, the ropes and turnbuckles were alternating red and blue, though they were beginning to fade with age.  

I followed my Dad further into the gym, eventually stopping in front of the ring, where two people were locked in physical combat. The slap of leather on flesh sounded loudly as the two fighters traded blows, bobbing and weaving, mixing it up once in a while by throwing a powerful kick or knee. 

One was a middle-aged man, round faced with long sandy blonde hair hanging down his back. His brown eyes were relaxed and clear as he searched his opponent for weaknesses. He was wearing red MMA tights and yellow two ounce gloves.   

His opponent was wearing white tights and black gloves. He was quite a bit younger and had jet black hair with obsidian eyes. His skin was pale, his face angular and severe

Both men were extremely gifted when it came to their physiques, though the blonde was a tad bit more muscular. 

The two continued to spar, until in a flash the black haired fighter launched a high kick aimed squarely at his opponent's head.

It could of been a trick of the light, but I thought I caught the blonde twitch like he was going to dodge for a second, before he simply raised his forearm and instead took the blow. 

It was powerful enough to knock his hand roughly onto the side of his head, but amazingly he grabbed the offending limb and held on like a limpet, putting the white tight wearing fighter in the awkward position of having his leg captured. Not that it stopped him for long though, as in an impressive display of acrobatic skill he launched his other leg up and wrapped it around the other side of the blonde's neck. Now hanging upside down he executed what I recognized a figure four choke, locking it in and squeezing for all he was worth. 

It didn't take long for the blonde man to drop gently to his knees and tap on the other's leg, signaling his submission. 

After the two separated, he took a moment to compose himself before standing upright again, seemingly none the worse for wear. Which was in contrast to his opponent whose chest was heaving and coated in sweat.

"Good job Tanjiro-san, that's good enough for today!" the blonde man enthusiastically clapped the smaller man on the shoulder. "Take a breather and I'll see you Thursday."

The younger man nodded his head and gave a shallow bow. "Hai, sensei." Stepping out of the ring the fighter walked to the lockers to collect his things. 

My dad waited until he was clear before he stepped to up to the ring, a wide grin on his face. "Hey Harry-san, long time no see eh?", for the first time in memory, my Dad spoke in English. While heavily accented, he was still pretty good. 

"Gaku? Holy shit! It's been what like 2 years?" The now named Harry-san walked to the edge of the ring and gave my Dad a hug. He also spoke English, but it was with an American accent. Obviously he was a native speaker. 

"3 I think, I've been busy with work and life you know? How have you been?" The two released their hug and the blonde man wiped a stray bit of hair off his face before leaning on the ropes. 

"It's been so-so," the martial artist shook his open palm right and left, "Saya-chan and I split recently, so it's been crazy. Business has been pretty poor too. The recession and all I guess."

"Heh, I can tell. You must of gotten rusty with all that sitting around." My Dad gestured over to his shoulder to the young fighter who was still picking through the locker, "You could of ankle locked him from that kick in a second. I've seen you do it too." The other man just smiled. 

"Maa, maa Nobe-san, the customers pay for MMA training, not Aikido lessons. Plus if I never let my students gain any hope, I wouldn't be a very good teacher would I?" he winked at my Dad and then turned to me, seemingly seeing me for the first time. 

"Oh, is that your kid?" My Dad nodded and the big blonde man leaned in towards me, "And what is your name?" He switched to Japanese that was just as fluent as his English was. 

"Nobe Sogan, it is nice to meet you sir!" I made a deep bow. I think I knew where this was going and wanted to make a good first impression. 

"Ah Sogen-kun. You're this ugly bastards kid, huh?" I nodded my head, unsure of what this guy's deal was. 

"Did he ever tell you about the first time we met?" Harry basically oozed pride as he nimbly jumped over the ring. I decided to poke his ego. 

"Hmm, no. In fact he never mentioned you at all..." I rubbed my finger on my chin. 

Harry dropped to the ground, lifeless, only to pop back up again almost as quickly. 

"You break my heart Gaku-san! Have you forgotten your best friend? Your eternal rival!" He declared theatrically, clutching a hand to his chest.

"Oh sod off Harry." My Dad laughed and turned to me, "I used to come here to train back when I was a kid. Harry-san's " he threw a thumb over his shoulder "Dad used to run the place. He also used to have the two of us square off against each other to measure our progress."

"You mean to see if you were any closer to standing a chance against me right? Give you false hope, a customer is a customer he would say!" Harry laughed and my Dad shrugged. 

"That's not how I remember it. Too many blows to the head from fighting in the ring perhaps? Getting forgetful" My Dad shit right back, obviously this back and forth was a common thing.

While the two of them bickered, I took the opportunity to cast Observe.

"Name: Nishikubo Harrison
Level: 12
Title: Hafu Aikido Master
Race: Human
Age: 35
Karma: 129
Affiliation: Battle Royale Dojo

HP: 3510
SP: 3600

>STR: 13
>CON: 9
>STA: 10
>DEX: 12
>INT: 6
>WIS: 6
>PER: 9" 

'Holy crap this guy is stronger than Dad!' I was shocked, I had not seen anyone of a higher level than 10 all this time and had almost started to think that was the limit for normal humans. Apparently not though. 

"Yeah, yeah you asshole. Ya didn't even tell me you had two sons!" I overheard the comment and focused back on on the two men. 

"What are you talking about? I have a son and a daughter, it's not my fault you dropped off the map to go train in America!" 

"But I thought your kid was" Harry pulled up his hand and counted on his fingers "like 6 years old. That's right! Kay-chan got pregnant when Taki-chan was 10!" 

"What can I say, Nobe genes are strong."My Dad crossed his arms and smirked, obviously showing pride in that statement. "We grow them big."

"He's six?!"

When my Dad had finally calmed him down and explained that yes, I was six and no he wasn't doping me with illegal drugs, Harry turned back to the reason behind our unexpected visit. 

"So Gaku, have you finally tired of getting old and fat and come here to get your butt whooped again." The blonde said in English. He squeezed a water bottle into his mouth and gargled. 

"No, I was thinking of asking you to train him." My Dad pointed at me and I looked sheepishly at his old friend.

"PAWGH!" Harry did a spit take at my Dad's sudden suggestion. Wiping his chin with the back of his hand he looked at my Dad like he was crazy. 

"Dude, you know that this is a full contact Dojo right? We don't do kids classes." He punctuated each word in that last sentence by poking Dad in his broad chest, before turning to me and switching back to Japanese, "Look kid, maybe try a karate clas-"

"I speak English." I cut him off crossing my arms to mimic my Dad's "tough guy" pose. 

"Oh, so you do. Uh, look, I don't have time for one on one lessons and I can-"

"Just test me." I stated calmly. I knew I wouldn't be able to win or anything, his stats were way too high. But I had confidence I could put up a decent fight. 

"Is he serious?" the martial arts master looked in askance to my Dad, who just shrugged. Harry turned back to me and threw a finger up. 

"Even if I did something that crazy, if you want to train here, this has got to be your life." He curled his hand and pointed to himself with his thumb, before gesturing over to a shelf with a bunch of trophies and medals displayed, some older than others. "I train winners here and knowing that you won't be able to compete seriously for like a decade, I'm not going waste effort doing one on one instruction with you, when I don't even know if you're gonna be cut out for this! That said, you'll be doing drills with the rest of the guys, fetching water, scrubbing mats etcetera, etcetera. That's if you pass this uh, test. Are you sure you want to do this?" He spoke more to my Dad than me, as if questioning his sanity for suggesting this in the first place. Or maybe questioning both of ours. His eyebrow raised up as he awaited our answer. 

I looked at my Dad, who nodded at me. Any other time this would be seen as being completely ridiculous. A 6 year old joining a full contact dojo? But here, in this world, this insanity was apparently possible. This guy was strong, I would learn a lot from him, probably improve my stats as well. I was itching to get into a dungeon sooner rather than later, this might be my chance to expedite that. 

"I am!" I said with conviction. 

"Ping!" The sound of a notification startled and I quickly glanced to the right. 

"New Quest: Become a student at Battle Royale
Reward: 250xp, New Job Unlocked - Martial Artist"

I smiled wickedly. Yeah, this was going to pay off.

"You guys are crazy man, really crazy. Giving me a headache." Harry rubbed his forehead, ruffling his long hair,   "Alright, fuck it, get in the ring kid, before I change my mind. And you!" he pointed at my Dad, "Tell Kayano we're even!"

"Tell her yourself..." I heard Dad mutter as I approached the ropes. Pulling on them gently to test their tightness, I decided to do something a little flashy. Bouncing once on my feet, I jumped up and tucked my feet in, flying over the top and into the ring. 

"Heh look at you. Like a little spider-monkey." Harry snorted, still standing by the edge of the ring. Stretching his back he ducked under the rope and stood on the other side. Confused I asked him what he was doing. 

"Yeah no, I'm not gonna be responsible if anything happens to you. So instead," he placed two fingers in his mouth and gave a ear splitting whistle before shouting, "Taki, get your ass in here!" 

I jumped when the door on the left of the room slammed open and someone stalked through it. 

"Whadda' want you old bastard?" An older teen girl pulled earbuds out of her ears and stomped over to the ring. "I was studyin'!"

"Gaku, Sogen-kun, this is my lovely Taki-chan. Isn't she pleasant?" He sounded like he doubted the "lovely" part.
 
"Name: Nishikubo Taki
Level: 8
Title: Tomboy Terror
Race: Human
Age: 16
Karma: 100

HP: 840
SP: 840

>STR: 7
>CON: 6
>STA: 4
>DEX: 6
>INT: 4
>WIS: 4
>PER: 5"

'Huh, she's strong, but not as strong as Dad. This should be interesting. I might actually survive.'

I looked at her more closely. A short simple bob-cut, wearing knee length black and red bicycle spandex. Her spandex top was made of similar material and showed off her well defined abs. She was lot taller than me but a lot shorter than our dads, probably around 160cm.

"Eh fuck you." she huffed, speaking English like her father. I saw Dad cringe at the blatant disrespect. As for for her own father, he just laughed.

"I have a job for you. A try out." 

"Tryout? Who, the old guy?" she twisted to face my Dad, "Why can't you? I don't want to shower again today." She pulled at neckline of her tight top and made a show of fanning herself.

"No, the kid." Her dad pointed to the ring and she whirled around again, this time locking onto my position. 

"Kid?" she asked and stumbled over to the ring. Stopping at the ropes, she looked me up and down before breaking out into a dangerous smile. 

'Why do I feel cold all of a sudden?'

"Ara, ara! Aren't you just the cutest little thing!" she stepped on the lowest rope and bounced up and down, sending her modest chest flying all over the place. She turned back to her Dad and threw him a thumbs up. "Ok Daddy! I'll do it!"

"That's my girl! Go easy on him. Don't break anything."

"KAY!" She shouted, flipping up over the rope like a gymnast dismounting the parallel bars, putting my earlier display to shame.

With a crash she landed in the middle of the ring, eyes glazed and cheeks red as she reached out her hands toward me. 

"Don't worry lil' boy, your Oneesan will be gentle!" 

I gulped and adopted a loose fighting stance, hands open, one foot forward, shoulders raised to protect my neck.

'Damn crazy Onee-samas, might not survive after all.'  I gulped and threw the first punch. It was a classic straight, but the teen didn't bother to dodge, choosing to absorb the blow with her forearm. 

Obviously not expecting much out of a kid, I got a bit of satisfaction watching her yelp and jump back. 

"Oh wow! You're pretty strong!" Any tiny smidgen of satisfaction was wiped out when she immediately recovered, her eyes alight with a dangerous glint, "Guess I can hurt you a little bit after all!" 

She sounded unnaturally cheerful about that.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

"Dungeon Create" 

Luminous multicolored coils of energy manifested themselves from seemingly thin air as I invoked the technique. Before long those coils slowly spread out more and more; eventually forming an impossible doorway that stood all on it's own.

'Wow, neat.' This was the first time I had used a technique that actually produced physical results that I could see  I was admittedly kind of geeking out over it. 

"I'm a wizard Emiru." I whispered, careful not to disturb my napping sister who was passed out on the couch. It was Sunday and my parents were out shopping, leaving me alone to watch over Emi-chan. 

I rubbed my neck, still aching from my workout at the dojo yesterday. Thankfully Taki-san was busy with studying for her college entrance exams so she wasn't around to terrorize me.

Seriously that woman was crazy.  
 
Well no use looking a gift horse in the mouth. It had almost been a year since I started my training at the dojo. During that time I had managed to level up twice more and had learned some new useful skills. Both in the traditional sense and in the game mechanic one. 

See it turns out that one way to get special skills was to acquire a "Job". I guess it was the mental acknowledgment of it a serious endeavor that triggered it, or maybe training under supervision? But either way it had steadily increased my fighting potential. 

Turns out, throwing normal strikes did not drain SP. While I did sweat and get winded, there seemed to always be more gas in the tank. So i was effectively a little energizer bunny. 

Same thing with running, jumping, weights, it was all essentially cost free. Sprinting did drain the bar though, as did anything else that demanded "maximum effort".
 
Another promising development, the degraded classifier had disappeared off of all of my Unarmed Combat skills. It took a little bit of effort, actively working to refine something, like say a punch, but it was so worth it. 

While I didn't understand it before, it seemed like "efficiency" in those skills translated to a "knowing when to use something" and doing it with "less effort". It was hard to explain, but it seemed to be an intrinsic knowledge of how an action would occur and how to best utilize it to achieve what I wanted to accomplish at less cost to myself. It was an abstract concept to be sure. 

Basically it just made me better. It was an edge I needed too as most of the adults that I sparred with not only outclassed me in stats but in sheer size and experience as well. They were professional fighters, in my last life I had never been one of those, I had sparred and learned some basic fighting techniques, but it never was a job. And still, it didn't matter how freakishly strong I was for my age, I still weighed less and had shorter arms than a full grown fighter. So I didn't win many if any fights, but it was still a good learning experience and I knew that all the skill gained would pay off later when I grew into them. 

I approached the glowing portal with some trepidation. This would be the first real danger I had faced in this world and I was doing it willingly. 

I wondered; what did that say about me? 

What did it say about me that part of me was looking forward to this? 

That same ugly desire to flex my power, to use violence for gain. Was the game just an excuse?

I didn't think I used to be this way. Despite most of my bravado, I had always been one to avoid conflict. Well, despite choosing a career that forced it. 

Eh, I was a contradictory bastard, sue me.  

Now though? Nervous anticipation was the only way I could describe what I feeling. I guess my Dad was right after all. I did want to use this power that had been gifted to me. Was the game warping my mind? Or was this something I was doing to myself? 

I didn't know and honestly it didn't matter. I wasn't the same person I was before, physically as well as mentally. I HAD waited this long to do this, didn't that mean something? I wasn't a complete battle maniac or anything.

Plus, I had to win. I just did. So I had to start somewhere.

I looked at the object I held in my hand and gripped it in determination. It was time. I turned the dial on the egg timer to 20 minutes and set it on the counter. The spare watch I had borrowed from my Dad was loose on my wrist as I steeled myself, bouncing a few times on my tiptoes to loosen up before striding forward. I passed through the glowing portal in a few steps, the blazing white filling more and more of my vision until it encompassed all of it. 

A warm feeling enveloped me as I entered into the portal completely. Then that feeling disappeared. Along with everything else! 

I panicked, as any control over my body completely faded away and memories of a black void began to rise up from the depths of my subconscious. Thankfully before the fear could truly grip me, a menu appeared. 

"Level 1: Rat's Nest" 

Well never let it be said that the game tried to hide anything. 

Below that there were many more levels, but they were all grayed out with question marks instead of titles. 

'No choice then.'

I visualized selecting the button. As soon as I did, an old familiar feeling returned, a pinch. Then...

The effects of the transport wore off as my body adjusted to the after effects of whatever the hell that entailed. 

I looked around, dark, pitted, lichen covered cobble stone walls. Rusty metal grates set into the wall that had nasty dried brown stains of unidentifiable origin  leading down to the stony ground and across the narrow walkway, finally dribbling into a shallow channel carved into the center stone floor. 

And the less said about the smell the better. 

'Thank you R.O.B.' I rolled my eyes at the sheer unoriginal laziness on display. 

Shaking off my disappointment, I pulled up my inventory and removed a spare kitchen knife that I had pilfered earlier. 

"Time to wake up some more old skills." I muttered, slipping it into a cardboard and duct tape sheathe I had whipped up. (Skill Up: Crafting) Satisfied it was snug, I tied the parachute cord lanyard and draped it around my neck. 

I had picked it earlier because when I had Observed it earlier,

"Item: MesserWork Brand Chef's Knife
Quality: High
This tool is made of high quality German steel and constructed with care.
Effects: Cut's 50% more efficiently."

Set, I began to walk down the tunnel, periodically slashing cuts into the lichen, so I would have a way to find the exit if Dungeon Escape only worked from that location. I made one turn, then two, then eventually came to a T-intersection. It was a wide circular room, a large catwalk hugging the walls, a giant cistern in the middle. Dark slimy looking water bubbled and roiled as water poured down from an opening on the ceiling.

Spotting something moving up ahead, I froze and hugged the corner of the wall, ducking back out of sight, crouching to minimize my profile.

I ignored the notification about the acquiring a new skill, sneaking, and instead focused on identifying what I had seen. 

I leaned out cautiously until I pied the corner enough to see again. I hadn't been mistaken. Something was moving along the catwalk and coming towards my position!

That something turned out to be a rat the size of a small dog! I watched as it scurried along, stopping once in a while to sniff at the ground, seemingly moving with a purpose. It possessed mottled grey fur and a long skinny hairless tail that dragged behind it for a good meter. It made quiet squeaking sounds as it advanced.     

I held my breath as it approached, staying crouched. My fingers, shaking with excitement or apprehension, gripped the handle of the knife and slowly unsheathed it. 

I cast Observe. 

"Name: Giant Rat
Level: 2
Title: Nasty Nibbler
Race: Vermin

HP: 30
SP: 60

>STR: 3
>CON: 2
>STA: 3
>DEX: 4
>INT: 1
>WIS: 1
>PER: 2"

'Damn it's weak.' I knew my own stats by heart by now and I was the better equipped. 

"Name: Nobe Sogen
Level: 7 (120/700)
Title: Reincarnate
Race: Human
Age: 7
Karma: 37

HP: 735
SP: 735

>STR: 7
>CON: 6
>STA: 7
>DEX: 6
>INT: 5
>WIS: 5
>PER: 6"

Most people would of had to work a huge portion of their lives to reach this level.

Hah! I had it before puberty!

My target came closer and closer, still oblivious to my concealed presence. I clenched the handle of the knife preparing myself. 

There! The head of the little beast poked around the corner. Leaping forward, adrenaline pumping, I plunged the knife info the top of the rat's head. 

It squeaked in surprised then kicked out a razor sharp paw. Seeing it's death blow coming, I jumped back, leaving the knife embedded in it's skull. Unfortunately I wasn't fast enough. The claw slashed through my jacket and sliced into my side. With that final action exhausted the rat gave a final twitch and laid still. 

"Fuck!" I moaned, clutching my side, paling as blood welled up and began leaking out from between my fingers. quickly I pulled a piece of wadded up cloth out of my pocket, one of my Dad's t-shirts. I had lost 50 points off the HP bar just from the initial attack. 

'I wonder if that was a a critical.' I wondered, keeping an eye on the new status notification that had appeared. 

"Status: Moderate Bleeding (60s)" 

Folding up the shirt, I placed it on the wound. and then passed two strips around my torso, tying them on the other side. 

If I allowed that to continue bleeding, I would of been halfway dead, as every second 5 hit points were subtracted. 

Thankfully, "Bandage Applied: Bleeding Stopped", I had figured out how to counteract it. As a bonus it was very handy for stopping nosebleeds after being pummeled. 

"Enemy Defeated: 10xp" 

I checked my HP, it had dropped. 

"645/735"

About an eighth of my HP had been wiped out with one strike. Now, it was a pretty brutal strike, but it wouldn't of been deadly, even for a baseline human.

But, I needed to make sure of something first. Putting my foot on the rat's corpse, I pulled the knife out. It made a sucking sound before finally giving up resistance and pulling free with a "squelch".  

"Dungeon Escape" I willed the, spell? Technique? Option? 

Immediately, I felt that now expected pinch and my body turned to laffy taffy. Colors, white light, a feeling of movement and I was back in my apartment.

Pulling the bandage away, I was pleased to see that the bleeding had indeed stopped, though the wound itself was very much present and painful. It would be gone in about half an hour though, my HP regeneration had increased as my stats went up. I could ignore the pain until then. But first I had to dispose of the evidence. 

I sucked my teeth and grabbed the egg timer. As I had hoped, no time had passed while I had been inside. Emiru still snored peacefully on the couch, none the wiser. I stripped my jacket and disappeared it into my inventory. It was then that I noticed something else had appeared inside as well. I withdrew the item from my inventory and turned it over in my hands. 

The item in question was a small vial, about the length and thickness of my pointer finger. It was corked at one end and filled with a watery red concoction. 

I hit it with an Observe. 

"Item: Small Health Potion
Quality: Common
This alchemical concoction is known to possess minor healing abilities. 
Effects: When consumed, restore 10% of total HP and cures light to moderate wounds." 

'So there are item drops too? Sweet, grinding here I come!'

Taking a moment to consider, I shrugged, popped off the cork and dumped it into my mouth. 

Swallowing the sickly sweet liquid, a pleasing warmth spread through my body, starting in my torso and spread to my limbs and head. I watched as my wound sealed itself, like an injury happening in reverse. I checked my stats.

"HP: 718/735"

'Almost!' It was annoying that it wouldn't heal the whole lot, but I couldn't understate how useful these potions could be. 'I wonder what the game considers moderate wounds?' Unfortunately, I had a feeling that I would find out sooner rather than later. 

'It just a flesh wound.' I sniggered to myself. 

Checking on Emiru again to make sure she was still sleeping, I grabbed another shirt out of my closet and opened another Dungeon Gate. 

Appearing in the same place, I quickly moved through the sewers until I reached the cistern. This time however, there wasn't a rat to great me.

'I wonder if they don't respawn? Or maybe random spawns?'

Well it didn't matter in the end, it would just limit my ability to farm for XP and items. 

I walked towards the door that the rat had entered from last time, cracking my knuckles. Instead of the knife, I would try using some of my unarmed skills. Though the idea of fighting without a weapon went against everything I had known from my old life and left me nervous.

I crushed the feeling. This wasn't my old world. I wasn't the old me. 

I turned the corner and locked up, the startled Giant Rat coming around the corner doing the same. 

'Shit, they do respawn! I just moved faster this time!"

My opponent squeaked a war cry and lunged, mouth open, large incisors aiming for my neck. 

"WHAM!"

My foot connected with the poor creature's head and sent it spinning. It slammed into the wall with a crunch, sliding down and lying still. 

I slowly lowered my foot back to the ground, noting the XP notification. Being extra careful, I prodded the dead rat with my shoe, as if that would grant me answers.

"Well at least it was easy." 

I casually walked further into the sewers before long I could hear a chittering noise. I stopped and dropped into a fighting stance, readying myself for another opponent. 

The chittering increased and increased in volume, soon becoming almost deafening. So loud it was becoming that even the floor seemed to shake with its intensity.

'What the hell is this?'  I looked down, shocked as I watched my trail foot slowly slide backwards, traitorously moving as if it had a mind of its own. 

I slapped my bicep, trying to bolster my courage. I stamped my foot.

"I'm not going to move from this spot!" I declared. "Not even-" 

Whatever grandiose oath I was going to make faded from my lips as my enemy finally rounded the corner. Or enemies. 

A chittering blood mad horde of dog sized rats covered the passageway's floors and walls, even the ceiling. Dozens of mindless pairs of hungry red eyes peered at me from within the mob. My mind blanked for a second, losing precious seconds as I struggled to process what exactly I was seeing. 

By the time I recovered, they were seconds away. I almost broke, shameful as it was. This was the first time I had truly faced death this side of life. I had almost forgotten the feeling. 

But for whatever reason I managed to find in that fleeting moment, I stood my ground. The first wave pounced, fangs and claws reaching for me. Ready to bury me under a avalanche of verminous killers.

"Flurry"

My stamina bar dropped by about a quarter and a surge of alien energy suffused my body. Whatever it was it, it made me feel light as a feather! My fear instantly dissipated and I was almost compelled to explode into action.  

My fists shot forward, almost faster than I could think. One, two, three, four, more and more. 

Kicks were sent out as well, a flawless combination that flowed from one attack to the next, moving with a smoothness and fluidity that I had never displayed up to that point. With every punch, I crushed skulls. With every kick, spines broke in twain. The wave of furry filth broke around me like a wave on the shore, bodies flying past as their relentless charging momentum sent them flying past.

The XP notifications were non-stop, but I wasn't paying attention. With every strike, I moved a little faster, my blows hit a little harder. 

This was "Momentum". Every successful hit that connected led to a temporary 10% increase in STR and 15% DEX, stacking up to ten times. However if I was struck, the effect reset. Flurry buffed my DEX by 50%! STR was also augmented, but only by 10%. It was still a hell of a bump, combine that with the other, which was a passive skill, there was a reason I had not used these abilities before. 

Not on people that I didn't want to kill.   

I launched myself forward, still punching away. The resistance crumbled, the few slashes and bites that got through were ignored. 

"Skill Added: Resistance, Slashing

Skill Added: Resistance. Piercing

Skill Up:-" 

I ignored it all, I was in the zone, not an unnecessary thought entered my mind. 

It was exquisite.

I dropped my hands to my sides, coated in blood and bits of fur.  

All was quiet. Nothing moved. I stood stock still, surrounded by defeated enemies and yet I felt amazing! My heart beat a speedy tattoo, my veins pulsed unnaturally; showing up on the surface of my my flesh. 

Eventually I calmed myself. Taking a big breath, I composed my thoughts and stilled them. Opening the menu I was excited to see that I had leveled up. The damage I received had been reversed, my HP and SP filled as I advanced to the next tier. But I was even happier that the first time using active Job skills had worked out so well.

About the pile of dead around me, I didn't feel much of anything at all. 

I navigated to the Job tab and selected "Martial Artist". Inside was what looked like a skill tree, with two nodes activated. In the lower left corner I saw that I had earned a point to invest. 

'Sweet.'

Indeed it was. Each Job had their own subset of skills that were linked to them. Each time you upgraded a skill (Going from one tier to another, so Novice to Journeyman, Professional to Master. Or starting over from a promotion), you filled a portion of the "Job XP" bar. Fill it up and the job would give you a point to unlock a new active or passive ability. However, the number of skill level ups required to fill up the bar increased with each "Job Level" reached. 

So far I had unlocked Flurry and Momentum. It was also possible to level up the techniques themselves. I looked over the options, there was a ability called Heavy Blow, which promised to double the strength of a single blow. That was fine, but right now I didn't really need more strength. The other available option that caught my eye was Iron Skin.

"PASSIVE ABILITY: Iron Skin Level 1
Mutant? Android? Jaded alcoholic housewife? Who knows, but you have some tough skin. 
Effects: Your skin requires physical attacks equal to your STR to pierce it or one half your STR if classified as a piercing attack."
 
That was pretty cool. If I had had that earlier, the rats wouldn't of been able to touch me. Though I figured I should take a look at all options before making a decision. 

The next ability was;

"Active Ability: Counter Strike Level 1
Revenge is sweet. Automatic revenge is even sweeter. 
Effects: During activation, return all damage taken in melee range at double your regular DEX. 10 second duration. 
Cost: 20 SP"

Interesting, a good defensive tool. Let's see the last one.  

"Passive Ability: Piercing Thrust Level 1
Poke your way to victory! Finger your enemies to death and freak out your friends.
Effects: Fingers become injury proof while striking and provide piercing damage.  

It was a tough decision. 

Though it really didn't matter. I would eventually gain enough points to get them all. Though for now I activated the node for Piercing Thrust. Why? 

Because it was cool, dammit! Basically my fingers were now weapons. Which was bloody brilliant!

I wiped my hands on the wall, trying to get some of the viscera off. Doing the best I could, I walked away from the scene of the massacre and further into the maze like corridors. 

I had walked for maybe ten minutes when I heard the sound of chittering once again. Dropping to a crouch, I slowly approached the next turn, sneaking a peak at the next room. 

It was larger than any of the other ones so far. In fact it appeared to be a central processing facility of some kind, maybe a treatment plant. 

Two giant cisterns, ringed by catwalks, sat sunk into the floor. Pipes ran every-which way. In the vats themselves, grey effluence was being stirred by two large rotating sieves, churning the sewage's surface and adding to the already overpowering stench. The occupants though, didn't seem to mind in the slightest.

I counted 5 figures standing in the middle of the room. Furry, bipedal creatures with elongated snouts and glowing red eyes, their yellowed claws clutched a motley assortment of melee weapons. They appeared to be talking amongst themselves. I hit em' with an Observe.

"Name: Ratkin
Level: 4
Title: Mean Mutant
Race: Abnormality

HP: 120
SP: 160

>STR: 4
>CON: 3
>STA: 4
>DEX: 4
>INT: 2
>WIS: 1
>PER: 2"

That wasn't that bad. Stronger than their smaller kin, but not close to where I was at. And after that feeling of power that I had just experienced.....

No, they wouldn't pose a problem. Their friend on the other hand.... A little ways away from the others a much larger creature sat on a low railing with it's legs crossed, large staff resting on it's lap. The staff in question was topped by a bronze rat head effigy, mouth held open in a terrifying snarl. Pale green flames seemed to be emanating from orifices of the decoration. It was wearing robes and had a large black book bound to its waist. 

That screamed "wizard" to me.

"Name: Ratkin Shaman
Level: 6
Title: Sneaky Spellcaster
Race: Abnormality

HP: 180
SP: 120
MP: 1080

>STR: 3
>CON: 4
>STA: 1
>DEX: 4
>INT: 9
>WIS: 8
>PER: 5"

'Shit, yeah that's a magic user.' I was pretty worried. It was only a level lower than me and with unknown abilities to boot. Maybe I was also a little butthurt that a mutant rat had more "intelligence" than me. 

'I have to kill that one first,' I mused 'Before it has a chance to do it's voodoo.' 

Deciding stealth was the better option, I unsheathed the knife and started to make my way around the outside of the room, staying to the shadows as much as possible. 

It was slow going. Every now and then the noise level from my enemies would peak and I'd freeze in a crouch. I would hold my breadth until the noise lulled and then I would begin laboriously creeping forward again. 

I kept my cool. I made my way to the back of the room, directly behind the sorcerer. My approach set, I started to close the distance. Moving from pipe to pipe, I saw that the last 10 meters was completely bare of concealment. 

'If I trigger Flurry, and just balls to the walls sprint, will I make it?' I licked my lips. Which were suddenly dry. 

I was confident I could kill it in one go. Just, what if it was faster? What if it had some killer technique? What if, what if I just used Dungeon Escape right now? Get a little stronger, come back later.

Those were the doubts that went through my head. But I shook my head. 'If I retreat now, I might never make it back. ENOUGH EXCUSES!' 

Loins girded, I stepped out from behind the last pipe. Exposing myself fully to anyone that was looking, which thankfully nobody was. One step, two steps, three, my footsteps were alarmingly loud to my ear. When half the distance had been covered, it was then that I noticed one of the pointy ears on the head of my intended target twitch.

'Now or never!' 

Flurry! 

The technique activated and I burst forward as fast I possibly could. Which means that I covered the remaining distance in the blink of an eye. The shaman slowly started to turn, surprised but undoubtedly aware of my presence now. Swinging its staff around and jumping off the railing it managed a single squeak like curse. It didn't matter.

"TOO SLOW!" I screamed, knife held out like a lance as I plunged it into the shaman's neck severing the spinal cord and ensuring an instant death. 

Or at least I thought that's what happened. 

When I looked at what I had just killed, something was off. The Ratman was smaller.

"Hukukuku." An obnoxious cackle reached my ears and I looked up to find the Shaman standing with the other three lesser ratkin, pointing and laughing in my direction. Wisps of that queer green balefire still dissipating around it's shoulders. 

"Wha-?" I dumbly sputtered, too confused to make any other moves.

"KILL KILL!" The shaman screeched, pointing its glowing staff my way. The remaining three melee fighters hesitated for a second before pouncing in my direction. 

"Shit, shit shit!" I yelled, doing the first thing that came to mind, pushing their defeated comrades corpse towards them as hard as I could. 

It worked. Sort of. The body slammed into one of the charging ratmen, causing him to trip up and face plant. I rushed to bring my foot down on on him. That was before I suddenly had to dodge a rusty glaive and a dirty pitch fork that sought to bisect and puncture me simultaneously. 

I dodged and jumped back into a defensive position, sadly allowing the prone mutant to scramble to its feet. 

Now faced with 3 to one odds, I had to act fast. I was able to somewhat predict their movements, I just needed an opening. Something, anything to gain an edge. Anything. 

I sighed in resignation. 

"King Engine"

A loud thumping sound echoed throughout the chamber. It was low, rhythmic and inescapable. Pounding, slowly getting faster and faster.

The ratkin momentarily paused in their attacks and looked around in confusion, searching for this new threat. Even the shaman looked unsure. 

'Ugh, so damn lame.'

"Flurry!"

I leaped towards the nearest enemy, snapping out a brutal side kick that broke the leg of my target, sending it's knee backwards further than it was ever meant to go. The thing screamed and dropped it's weapon, but my hand lashed out, instinctively with a pointed finger, in a move that I would of never considered in the past. But now...

It cut like a hot knife through butter, my finger sinking deep into the rat man's chest and spearing it's heart. It dropped like a puppet with its strings cut but I was already on to the next, jumping off a nearby pipe and tackling the glaive wielder to the ground. I might of been small still, smaller than my crooked opponents even, but my enhanced strength was enough to bowl it over. Buff still active, I rode it to the ground, grabbing it's head and bashing it into the ground with a sickening "CRACK". No time to celebrate though, something sharp and rusty approached in an arc that aimed to cut off my head. 

I dropped flat on the body under me, allowing the sword to whiz over my head. I rolled off, dodged another clumsy strike as it came down horizontally, kicking the corpse into its feet, which tripped it up some. Springing back forward, I trapped the arm with the blade under my armpit and moved in close. I speared my hand forward aiming for the thing's temple, but at the last minute a furry paw was brought up frantically and stopped my progress by grabbing by wrist. 

But I was still stronger and inevitably my finger began to move closer. Despite the bestial grunts of my foe the outcome was inevitable. Freaking out, the beast panted in my face, its rancid breath making my stomach turn. I flinched away, which worked out because the ratkin made a lunge for my exposed face. Its rotting fangs and slimy mottled tongue trying to gnaw my face off. I punished it with a knee strike to its guts. It doubled over and started wheezing. I swung my clawed fingers again to end it. 

Only to spin around instead, letting the unfortunate monster absorb the big ball of sickly green energy instead of myself. Again I was saved mostly by luck, I only saw the attack by the sudden fear in the ratman's expression and the reflection of something bright in it's shiny eyes. 

The shaman cackled while holding it's still smoking staff out. Apparently there was no love lost between monsters. I let the charred corpse fall and grabbed the sword it had been holding. I felt sluggish all of a sudden as Flurry was released. Energy gathered at the tip of the rat shaman's staff as it prepared to fire another eldritch blast. I took off, right towards the danger. The creature narrowed its eyes and chanted something, a green semi transparent barrier slithering up it's body and settling in like a second skin.

'Bullshit.' I whined as I activated Flurry for what would be the last time. Not enough SP left for another go. 

I dashed forward and the Shaman responded in kind firing off a beam of green light that scorched every surface that it touched. It swept the ray low, looking to target my legs. Jumping over it, I tucked my shoulder and rolled on it, somersaulting forward and regaining my footing. Now within melee ranger I lashed out with the stolen sword, attempting a rising strike that would of cleft my foe open from crotch to neck. But it wasn't to be. Instead the blade touched the green barrier and was deflected. Like metal on ice, it slid off and up, throwing me off balance. 

The sorcerer saw his chance, another word and violet flames sprung to life around its free hand. Little skulls danced around its claw as it raced to slam that undoubtedly deadly energy into my defenseless body.

It was my turn to smirk. Instead of following the sword up after it deflected off the shield, I merely dropped it instead, throwing the sword away and driving my extended fingers up like a rocket. The single use shield had already faded, leaving the freak wide open.

A sound like a an egg being squashed and the creature squawked in shock. Then in pain. 

I wiggled my middle and pointer finger, stirring the inside of the rat man's occipital lobe, my blade like fingers having pierced it's upper palate and entered the skull. It convulsed in agony. I curled my hand into a fist and pulled back, ripping out the mutant's skull and brains. It died instantly. I tossed it to the side and bent over hands on my knees.

"Waaaaaahh! That was close!" I exclaimed, feeling the raw skin on my back where that ray attack had grazed me. 

"Enemy Defeated: 300xp"

"Level Up!"

"Congratulations! Boss Defeated, Stage Clear!" 

The box appearing out of the blue startled me enough that I instinctively swatted at it with my free hand. Of course that did nothing. 

"Reward: Gacha Token x1
Level 2: 'The Walking Dread' Unlocked!"

'Oh cool Gacha. That should be fun. Now, to get out of here.' I rolled my burnt t-shirt between my fingers. 'I'm going to run out of clothes at this rate.' 

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I) 

It was several hours later that my parents had come home from their shopping trip, none the wiser.

I had been transported back home, cooked Emiru-chan lunch and done some cleaning around the house. 

All in all a pretty good day.

The door opened and I heard the rustle of bags as they entered the apartment 
 
"We're home!" My mom called, bending over to take off her shoes. 

"Daddy, Mommy! Emiru jumped off the couch and ran towards my parents. She got scooped up into my Dad's arms and lifted up into the air, arms splayed out like a bird. She giggled and Dad dropped her into a hug. She nuzzled her face to his chest. "I missed you." My mom grinned and rubbed her back.

"So-kun, can you please help us carry in the bags. 

"Sure." I coolly said, internally pleased by my family's antics. 

A few minutes later I entered back into the apartment with arms chalk full of grocery bags. I had ended up grabbing all of them. Well almost all of them.

"We're back!" My little sister exclaimed as she struggled to hold her single bag in her hands. 

"Wow so quick! Thank you sweetie!" My mom put down whatever she had been fiddling with and moved to take the bag from her panting daughter. "So-kun, can you please put the groceries away." 

"Sure, Mom." I carried the bags to the kitchen counter and set them down on it. I idly noticed what Mom had been fiddling with. It looked like a cellphone box, sleek and black and with the picture of a generic looking smart phone on the front. "Did you get a new phone?" 

"Ahh, yeah I did, but it's not for me. Your father and I decided that it was past time for you to have your own. All the websites say to wait until your child is mature enough, but well..."

"I am who I am." I finished for her, reaching up to take the smartphone from where my Mom had set it down. It was sleek and well designed, looking like a late generation smart phone from my old world. Nothing like the phones I remembered from the 2010s of my time. 

"Apex", I read the model name on the back of the box. I had never heard of it. I pressed the side button and the screen powered on. 

My eye's narrowed. 

The splash screen was displayed, but it wasn't that what concerned me. It was the "Powered by M.B.I." subtitle. 

"Huh."

I was still playing around with the phone while I was lying in bed later that night. It was weird. The thing was freakishly fast and had a well designed UI to boot. I'm also sure knowing what I remembered about the leader of MBI, that it was loaded with backdoors and spyware. 

I thought about the fact that I was probably holding an actual piece of alien derived technology. In my past life I would of been excited, but now. 

"Meh" 

Finished with it, I tossed the device onto my nightstand and turned off the light, bathing the small room I shared with my sister with darkness. 

She had passed out earlier. So I felt safe checking out the Gacha token that I had earned.

Opening the inventory, I noted the ten or so "Small Health Potions" and the three "Medium Health Potions" that I had picked up  Those would be invaluable if I was going to brave the next dungeon. While I had succeeded, it had been more difficult than I originally thought. 

'This is real life, of course it was going to be harder. Though those mutants seemed sentient, I guess that makes me a killer in this world now.' I didn't feel much to be honest. They had shown no hesitation in trying to kill me. Chances are they were temporary constructs anyways, created for the dungeon instance with no real existence outside of it. 

I selected the "Gacha Token" in the inventory, but instead of anything appearing in my hand, a green selection screen appeared. 

"Use Gacha Token? 
Yes / No "  

I selected the former. I was expecting a slot machine on a wheel like the Talent selection. What I certainly wasn't expecting a giant coin-vending machine to appear in the middle of my room! 

Tangled up in the covers, I extracted myself as quickly as I could. This could be bad, I didn't know what if this was a physical manifestation or not. It certainly looked real. I just had to make sure that-

"Onii-chan, wuzzit that?" Emiru sat up in her bed, and rubbed her eye. She sounded half asleep.

'Crap, think!' "Uh, it's just a dream Emi-chan! Go back to sleep." I stood in front of the vending machine, trying unsuccessfully to hide it behind my back. 

"Kay!" her faith in me was endearing. "But Oniichan, I have to go! But it's too dark!" Her voice was wavering, tears incoming! 

Indeed the only light in the room was a nightlight in the corner. 

"Yeah, hold on, I'll turn the light on." While it wasn't great, it was better than waking up my parents with my little sister's wails.

Not like this didn't happen near every damn night anyways! 

So I turned on the light, grabbed her shoulders and faced her away from the machine and escorted her to the bathroom, then marched her straight back, turning the lights off. 

"Alright, now go back to sleep."

"But onii-!" she pleaded. 

"No!" I whispered loudly.

"I wanna prize!" her voice started cracking again. I realized then this could only end one way. 

"Fine, hurry up I'm tired. And be quiet!"

"Yay!" 

"Shhh!" I held her hand and led her over to the machine, which almost reached the ceiling. It was colored pink and white, with a large glass top filled with those little prize containers you'd see at a gas station or mall. The base was see through, with a bunch of little ramps and slides that terminated at a silver flap at the base with the word "Prize" emblazoned on it. 

Seeing the crank with a token already in the slot. I turned to my little sister. 

"If I let you turn the crank will you go back to sleep?"

She nodded in agreement, rubbing in her eyes, still half asleep. 

Scoffing, I touched the crank and case, just to make sure it was safe. Satisfied I grabbed Emiru under the arms and effortlessly lifted her up. 

Grinning, her little hands reached out and grabbed the crank. 

"Ehh, ergh, egg." She grunted cutely as she tried to turn the handle, budging little by little. Eventually she got it, the handle breaking loose and turning freely. 

"Keep turning it." I advised, looking to the door to make sure we were still clear. She kept turning it until something plopped out of the bottom of the globe and began rolling down the ramps. 

"Aii!" Emiru exclaimed and I had to shush her again. I set her down and the two of us watched as the ball made its way down the chute. After a little wait, it plopped into the hole at the bottom.

Immediately she reached for the flap and pulled out the little container, about the size of a scoop of ice cream. 

"It's a prizy!" she showed it to me and I patted her on the head. 

"Yeah, good job. Let me see it though." I reached for it and she eagerly handed it to me. 

"Hnh, I need to see if it's a real prize, give me a second." Turning my back to her, I said over my shoulder. Quickly I popped open the lid, not expecting the blast of confetti in my face. 

It had been 5 years. Give me a break. 

The trumpet sounded and and a banner was displayed in the center of my vision. 

"Congratulations! New Item Added: Crazy Good Chocolate Cake x 99"

"Wut?" 

Shaking my head at the stupidity of it all, I quickly grabbed a rabbit shaped eraser off of my nearby desk and shoved it in the empty capsule. 

Then I turned around and handed it to Emiru. 

"Here you go Emi, now go to sleep."

"Eww! What's that on your face!" 

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

It was weird having to remember two birthdays for yourself. I mean, I could of just forgotten one, but that seemed to be disrespectful to my old life. 

Maybe I just wanted cake twice. 

The reason for these thoughts was my upcoming Birthday. I was almost 8, one less year in this prepubescent hell that I found myself in. I missed being able to buy booze. And drive myself. And work, surprisingly. 

'I wonder if Dad will be back by then?' I wondered, picking up a can and dropping it in a nearby recycling bin. Gaku had pulled one of his disappearing acts and had been gone for a week. When I asked Mom about it, she said Dad had left for training. It was annoying because without Dad around, there was one less person to keep Emiru distracted. 
 
'Maybe I should head to the dojo anyways today?' My training at Battle Royale was going well. And while I still couldn't best Taki or god forbid, Harry-san without my abilities, but I was getting closer. Enough so that some of the other trainees were becoming a little hesitant to rumble in the ring with me, maybe scared about being btfo'd by a elementary school brat.

I still hadn't tried another dungeon level yet. After I had beaten the "Rat's Nest", I had some time to reflect on just how poorly that could of turned out. I was saved purely by luck a few times. I wanted to be more prepared. 

'At least I got a shit ton of chocolate cake out of it. It is damn crazy good too.' I thought as I approached the stairs leaning up to my family's apartment. I started up, but had to stand to the side as two clean shaven men in military uniforms came down the stairs. The younger of the two gave me a look, sympathy in his eyes, before looking away. 

My heart skipped a beat. I turned and ran up the stairs, taking them 3 at a time. In a flash, I was upstairs and in front of our door. My hand hesitated on the knob. I had already arrived at a conclusion and it wasn't a good one. I turned the knob, noting the unlocked state. I stepped inside. 

"I'm home." I greeted, but no one answered. Kicking my shoes off, I closed the door behind me and locked it. The news was on TV, which was a rarity in itself. The pit grew in my stomach as I moved to the living room. Abruptly, my sister skidded into view and grabbed my hand, shaking it vigorously. 

"Onii-chan! Mommy is sad! She's crying!" Emiru explained tugging on my hand as she tried to lead me away. I let her, moving into the room, where I could finally see my mother.

She was sitting in front of the couch, legs together and hunched over. As my sister said, she was quietly sobbing, her back raggedly shuddering up and down. Next to her was a Japanese flag, folded into a triangle and discarded on the floor. 

My Dad was dead. There was no other interpretation of this.

I felt empty. 

Emiru kept leading me until we were standing in front of our mother. I let go of her hand and sat on the floor next to Mom. She didn't respond to my presence. Her breathing sounding shallow and panicked, like an animal on the verge of death. 

"...Hiroto Minaka, the CEO of Mid Bio Informatics, gave the following remarks after meeting with Prime Minister Hashiba and United States Ambassador Perry." I stared with unfocused eyes as the news anchor prattled on. 

It must if been the time that the government attacked the Sekirei island. That had just happened. I maybe could of prevented it, but I had forgotten. I had read the Sekirei manga over 12 years ago now, somethings were bound to slip. 

"Greetings humans!" A ostentatiously dressed middle aged blonde man held his hands up as if expecting an angelic choir to echo it's agreement. "It is I, Hiroto Minaka, chosen messenger of the Gods! I have come to deliver their message to the unwashed masses!" The pure white suit, shoulder pads and cape would of made anyone dismiss him as an chunnibayo who never grew out of his insanity. 

But, I could see through it. His eyes. I had seen them before. In the fervent gaze of an insurgent before they threw themselves in front of my gun. Or the faith mad priest as he spoke on the damnation of heretics. 

This man was dangerous. 

Even more so, he believed every word he was saying. 

A zealot through and through. 

Minaka raised his open palm towards the heavens before continuing.

"That message is one of FURY!" He brought his hand down quickly and made a fist.

After giving the room a second to breathe, he continued.

"They show their anger at the Japanese government and their American conspirators for daring to set foot on the sacred homeland! The island of Kamikura!" 

A screen appeared next to the madman, highlighting the island in question. 

"Three times these two invaders threw their full might against the islands defenses and three times the Angels of Kamikura sent them to HELL!" The bastard smiled and my mother flinched. 

'The fucking Disciplinary Squad.' My teeth clenched so hard I could hear my jaw pop. Miya, Karasuba, Kazehane, Mutsu. I remembered the names. 

'Matsu.' 

She had been one of my favorite characters, one that I thought was underused by the author and her worthless partner. 

Plus she was cute. 

Shallow!

But now...

"Because of this sacrilege, I, the chosen messenger of the gods, have declared the Island of Kamikura an extraterritoriality. Any mortals that dirty these holy shores shall be struck down in righteous JUSTICE!" The freak raised both of his hand's to the air and looked upward. An uncomfortable look of righteous fervor twisting his face into a rictus of holy rapture. 

Guilt twisted in my gut like a knife. I had seen the signs of MBI's rise. That abominable logo had been appearing on more and more items as the years progressed. I knew this attack was coming. I could of done something. The worse thing? If thing played out the same, Minaka would never be held to account. M.B.I. and the alien tech cache they hoarded was too valuable to the world's government to risk taking extreme measures and much too dangerous to treat lightly. They wouldn't act. No doubt Minaka, that piece of filth, had already infiltrated most of those same governments, with bribes and moles. 

But what could I have done? How could I have know Dad would be one of the ones to go? I knew I couldn't fight the whole of MBI, not as I was now. It was pointless to place the blame on my shoulders, but I felt the weight of it anyways. 

My poor mother, I glanced at her out of the corner of my eye. She still hadn't raised her head. A widow, freshly made and so young. It wasn't fair! I rose and sat on the couch. I didn't know what to do. 

I was a selfish man I would freely admit. I loved my new family selfishly, just as much as my old ones. My new family that loved me, despite being a freak, despite being a burden, despite being so selfish.

My Dad, always believing in me, his goofy smile and encouraging words. The times we spent fishing or camping together. The jokes, the one on one talks, him spoiling Emiru, his love for me even if I didn't deserve half of it. 

'THEY TOOK THAT FROM ME! '

The guilt that was in my gut began to burn, kindling for something much more dark and dangerous. 

"The age of the New Gods is coming! The weak, as proven today, should remember their place." Minaka ended the broadcast with a theatrical flick of his wrist. 

"CRACK!" 

"Onii-chan!" 

I looked down at my hand and the broken pieces of the armrest that I was holding. There was also something wet on my cheeks 

Snarling, I wiped the mysterious moisture away and turned my attention again to the TV, now focused back on the news reporter as they discussed the latest events. 

'They all die.'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

"Kachoo!" 

A small ginger haired and bespectacled girl, also known as Sekirei-02, "The Sekirei of Wisdom" and Matsu, wiped her nose with the sleeve of her MBI issued jumpsuit. 

Kazehana, Sekirei-03 would say that sneezing meant your secret lover was talking about you. Usually following it up by a blushing look given to her self proclaimed "Destined One." 

Matsu knew it was irritation of the mucus glands in the nose and throat that were the cause. 
  
She drew her knees tighter to her chest. 
'Not that I would complain if that was the case. I wish...'

She couldn't finish that thought. 

What kind of Ashikabi would be willing to wing someone like her?

Matsu drew a circle in the bed sheet with her big toe. She shifted her gaze to her cell's wardrobe and back again. The door was slightly ajar and the edge of black and gray uniform peeked out from within. 

'Maybe if they're half selechii.' The goofy thought of a shark-human hybrid blushing and holding a bouquet of roses out to her almost brought a smile to her lips. 

Almost. 

With a huff she collapsed back onto the bed. She rolled to one side and curled into a ball, hugging her pillow.  

She knew what was wrong with her. Alien physiology or not, going through something like that was bound to affect a person. What more if it happened to be a 10 year old? 

Depression, fear, lack of motivation, anxiety, guilt. Classic signs of shell-shock or PTSD.

There was a conflict between her view of the world and what she had experienced. This emotional instability was what was causing her current mental distress. 

The screams of sailors as they were eviscerated and drowned by Miya's shockwaves. The crackling of the burning flesh of the helicopter pilots downed by Kazehana's gales. The moans of pain and panicked shouts of those poor souls crushed by Mutsu's geomancy. The begging and screaming if those caught by the Black Sekirei as she tormented and murdered all that came ashore.

She had witnessed it all, her technomancy allowing her to interpret and receive sensory data from the thousands of security camera's around the island. To learn the names of every soldier, sailor and airman who had deployed to assault their home. From there it was easy to move on to the databases of dependents, husbands, wives, children, their social media, baby pictures....

Matsu squeezed her eyes shut, trying to rid herself of all that useless, useless information. 

'Better to just fill this head with worthless garbage. Fill it to the brim.' She closed her eyes.

One thing that was annoying being around people that were your intellectual inferiors is that you had an acute understanding of your standing in comparison to others. 

Matsu was smart, she knew this. Everyone knew this. Perhaps even to the level of genius. Though there were plenty of humans who matched or surpassed her in that arena. No, that wasn't what set her apart. It was instead her unmatched capability to retain and recall information. Probably stemming from her nature as a brain type.

It was also a horrendous curse in this case.

Every cut, nick, decapitation, disembowelment, evisceration. Every shriek, scream, whimper, cry for mother and desperate plea. Every angle of every death was imprinted in her brain in HD as if she had been there. Over and over, just as if she had experienced it for the first time. It would be recalled instantly and refreshed even if she tried to forget. Over and over and over again.

She could only hope it faded in time.

A pathetic whimpering sound snuck out of her throat, embarrassing, but she was past caring. The camera in the corner of her room was always watching anyways. Let the voyeurs watch her stew in misery. Just another valuable data point. 

Everything she had wanted to say she had said yesterday. 

Matsu had approached Sahashi-san, the head of MBI's Research and Development department, after the debriefing held for the Disciplinary Squad after the successful repulsion of the American and Japanese government's attempts to seize control of Kamikura Island. 

The others might not, but Matsu knew the truth. The Professor, CEO Hiroto Minaka, had been gaslighting the international community for years. While he had been talking about accepting access and inspections out one side of his mouth, the other had been ordering the creation of the largest corporate military force in the world. Made up of mostly mercenaries and financed by MBI's rapidly growing market share, the MBI "Security Service" was shaping up to be an extremely worrying wild card. 

Meanwhile Minaka had been busy blackmailing world leaders and government bureaucrats with promises of wondrous medical treatments for all ailments. Available only of course at select exclusive MBI medical facilities. Unfortunately for MBI, somehow a leak had occurred and word of the bribery scandals had reached the ears of many of the intelligence services. The media had had a field day after the news broke and MBI had suffered a short term free fall in their stock price. Not that Minaka cared a bit about the woes of scorned investors. No, it was more important that he had lost the facade of genius philanthropist and gained the one of dangerous international actor instead. 

Though probably what actually caused the attempted occupation was the acquisition and delivery of two dozen state of the art surface to air missile systems, capable of hitting targets up to several hundred kilometers away. Or at least that was her theory.

Or it could of been his rather forceful poaching of DARPA connected scientists and engineers.

It could of also have been his declaration that Kamikura Island would no longer fall under the jurisdiction of anyone but himself. An island that had the equivalent of a few dozen nuclear bombs sitting hidden just below the surface.

"Sahashi-san can I have a moment of your time?" she had asked, twirling her braid in her fingers nervously. 

"No 02, you aren't getting computer privileges back, we've discussed this." Takami didn't even look up from her clipboard and Matsu's face colored red in embarrassment at the rebuke. 

"No-n-no it's not that!" she denied, swatting her hands in front of her in full denial. 'It was only one or so video! And a couple pictures. And a few of eroge games. Ok, so it was more than a little. But it was for research! All for attracting an Ashikabi!' Smoothing her plaits she bowed deeply and held out a stack of papers. 

"This is a letter informing M.B.i. of my formal resignation from the Disciplinary Squad." She stated with as much conviction as she could muster. Takami gave the piece of paper a flat stare and then turned back to her clipboard. 

"Ok." 

"Ok?" 

"Yes, as of now your services are no longer required in that capacity, so this little pantomime is unnecessary." 

"Pa-pa-pantomime?" Matsu's glasses nearly dropped off her nose. Takami-san's voice was full of condescension in a way that she had never heard from her before. "Sahashi-san, no, this, I don't want to do that! Ever again!" Matsu, stamped her foot. "The killing, any of it! It's to horrible!"

At her words, Takami's finally lifted her eyes from the clipboard. For a second. Matsu could of sworn she saw, surprise, sympathy, maybe even a little guilt. Then just as quickly it was back to the same icy expression that was the norm for the woman.

"The vitals should be within expected parameters. There shouldn't be any residual mental contamination. Takehito-san's latest write up was...damn Gen 3's taking up too much of our time..." Talking to herself, the scientist took out an RFID scanner from her lab coat's pocket. Grabbing the smaller girl by the neck, Takami suddenly yanked Matsu painfully by the scalp and pulled her head forward. She then held the scanner to the back of her neck. It was cold and Matsu whimpered.

"Oh hush." The device beeped and the grey haired scientist released Matsu, who rocked back. It was a close thing and she almost ended up on her butt.    

"Hmm, stress hormones are elevated and the readings from the core are abnormal." She spoke clinically again, but Matsu had the feeling it wasn't to her. Takami dropped the scanner back into her pocket and withdrew a short range radio. 

"Sahashi to Central, requesting escort for No-02 to Services for immediate adjustment. Current location," Takami glanced at a nearby data plate. "Hallway 24-B" A few seconds later someone acknowledged the order.

Matsu blanched. Every Sekirei knew what a trip to "Services" entailed.    

Tests, shots, electrodes, humming MRI machines, reagent cocktails and time spent in a "recovery tank".

That process could take hours for a routine checkup, to weeks if it was time to implement more serious changes in their biogenetic makeup. . 

Sekirei were like a blank canvas, the artists the various MBI geneticists and engineers. These "adjusters" were the ones that saw to the care and modifications of the sekirei.

There were baseline characteristics that could not be changed without compromising the delicate link between the biological side of her species and their more, esoteric, side. Their parameters however, muscle density, core energy output and various mental parameters could be altered, quite easily in fact. So could their physical "age". The younger the platform, the easier it was to make changes to larger sections of their genetic tapestry.  Though as far as she knew they couldn't progress backwards.

There were also rumors of sekirei that were categorized as "scrapped", though those were just references in email's that she had intercepted. Also mysterious mentions of "recycling". Her powerset was useful sometimes. Especially for learning things that she wasn't meant to know, but it wasn't a panacea.

Technopathy, the ability to psychically interface with technology like an organic computer. That is what her combat adjusters called it. To her though, it was simply another sense. The moment her mind came into contact with a network or machine, it was as if it became a book, data compiled and easily recognizable. Every firewall and encryption hash became like a child's maze to work through. Though she was limited to a read-only status, unable to affect data directly.

That had been before her handlers truly understood her powers. Nowadays she was restricted from even interacting with networked electronics. Even the security camera in her current cell was on a separate closed loop 

But back then....

She had torn through all of MBI's local servers, even accessed their satellites and the internet at large. It was how she had learned alot about their species. And the human species. 

'And the male of the species!' She shook her head. Wrong time for that.

More than what was taught in their daily lessons. Though Matsu saw through that whole charade as well. Indoctrination was a more accurate description to what their daily routine consisted of.  

Everyday, "Service to the Gods", "Your Ashikabi is the path to happiness.", "Wings are not for Flings", on and on. Other than that and combat classes, that was the extent of her brother's and sister's education. 

The implications of THAT were disheartening to say the least.

There were also entire sections of systems that were missing from the networks she had access to. She knew that because of what she couldn't see, blank areas in the network schematic she otherwise saw in her head. They had to airgapped, designed specifically to exist seperate from any other networks and thus outside her purview. She couldn't say what went on in those sections, but she doubted it was anything good. 

"Ahh, no! I-I'm fine really! I just wanted to be lazy! Yeah!" Matsu tried to step away from the human woman, but found that she was being held in place. 

Which was surprising, seeing that even at half the weight of this woman she could easily break every single bone in her body with ease. Still her body refused to resist, dumbly waiting with her shoulder held until a team of masked guards arrived and escorted her into the bowels of the facility.

As she was frog marched to the Services department, she couldn't help but worry at what was going to happen. This would be her first ever unscheduled visit. What if she was unfixable? What if she was scrapped? Matsu chewed on her lip, her escorts boxing her in as they walked down the long corridors in silence. 

Right outside the entrance to Services, she was reunited with familiar though uncomfortable face. A grey haired girl, slightly taller than her and dressed in the Disciplinary Squad uniform, leered at her as they passed. 

"Watch out Four-Eyes, the monkeys are in a bad mood today!" No-4, Karasuba cackled from beneath perpetually squinted eyes as she was led away by four armed guards who regarded her warily. Matsu noticed that her hands and legs were shackled again.

'She must of had an "incident" again. Explains why she wasn't at the debriefing anyways.' she sighed as she was marched through the entrance to the adjustments lab. That one was dangerous. And mentally unstable. 

So as usual Matsu didn't dare to respond.

Inside was a waiting room of sorts, with bare concrete walls and various numbers painted on the floor. Behind each number was a column of dots. In front of the numbers was a armored plexiglas window with an intercom. Behind it, Matsu could see a bored looking technician working at a computer.

The room was almost empty except for another brown haired sekirei that was standing on one of the circles. She was looking at her feet despondently while her guards stood behind her quietly talking amongst themselves.  

One of the guards escorting Matsu walked up to the intercom and held the call button. 

"No. 02 here for unscheduled maintenance." he stated, after which the technician responded. 

"Ok, put her in section 3, should be about 10 minutes."

The guard waves his acknowledgment and led Matsu to the circle labeled with a big red 3. 

Which just so happened to be next to the other sekirei in the room. Matsu looked over the other girl. Brown hair, brown eyes, she was pretty unremarkable. She looked to be about 4 years old. She was also crying, though very quietly. As if she was trying to hide it. 

'Must be one of the Gen 2's.' Matsu thought, making an effort to stare straight ahead, despite the nervousness in her chest. Before long though the quiet sniffling of her fellow sekirei got to her.

"Psst! Hey, are you alright?" she turned to the smaller girl and quirked an eyebrow.

"Oneesan, I'm scared!" The fledgling sniffed and wiped her eye with the back of her hand. 

Matsu felt a pang in her heart. It had not been so long ago that she had been in the same boat. Everything had seemed so big and scary back then. Nobody had ever asked her if she was alright, outside of medical examinations that is. In time it became expected and you learned to ignore the loneliness. It was just something you got used to, something this little one had obviously not mastered yet.  
  
She wished someone had been there for her.

"Hey, I'm No. 2, Matsu. what's your name?" She asked and the little girls eye's widened as if she had never expected to be addressed. 

"Uzume," her eyes widened comically as she quickly added, "No. 10!" 

Matsu smiled and patted her newfound kouhai on the head. 

"Uzume-chan heh, heh, heh? Now that's a pretty name." Uzume's eyes lit up with the compliment. 

"Do you really think so?" she looked up at her with sparkling eyes. 

"Of course, it's just the kind of name that would attract a super cool Ashikabi!" Matsu felt a little sick saying that, but it was one of the emotional levers that was guaranteed to work on the majority of her kind. 

"Really Onee-san, really!?" 

"Believe it! Plus you're just too cute!" she snaked her arms forward and squeezed the fledglings cheeks, followed up by really serious tickle attack. Once the giggles had subsided, Matsu held up Uzume's chin, now serious again. "But Uzume-chan, in order to meet your destined one someday, you'll have to be strong." 

"Even when it's scary?" Matsu nodded sagely at the younger sekirei's question. 

"Especially when it's scary! That way your Ashikabi knows you're being brave for them!" Matsu smiled brightly, her cheeks raising her glasses slightly up off her nose.

"OK! I can do it!" Uzume nodded and made a fist. Which was just adorable.

The two talked for a while longer, until eventually the speaker announced the examination room was ready for Uzume and the guards shuffled her out. 

"Remember, be brave Uzume-chan!" She called out.

"I will Onee-san! Thank you!" No. 10 replied and waved back before the door slid shut behind her. 
It was then that Matsu realized that she felt better than she had in a long time.

Back in the present, she wished she could feel that way again. It had been a blessing meeting Uzume, but she hadn't seen her little sister since. The pain from her adjustment, it had been deadened by her lifting spirits, but not stopped. And even worse, she had been confined to her quarters for "observation" after the exam. 

'I'm going to escape from here. This prison. We all will. What are we if not free? Free to love and find our own paths to happiness. On my Ashikabi, I will make it happen.' Matsu vowed, sitting up as it felt like there was new life injected into her soul. 

All that death and all that suffering had to be worth something, right?

Or else, what was the point?

Chapter Text

Let's Play:Sekirei

Chapter II

"PING!"

"Quest Completed!

Reward: 250xp"

"Now announcing, the newest Ultimate Fight Light Heavyweight Champion, by Knockout, NOOOOBBBBEEE SOOOGENN!"

I smirked for the cameras as the announcer raised my gloved hand up into the air. The crowd outside the octagon exploded. The chanting, screaming and yelling threatening to deafen me. Playing to the crowd, I turned to my defeated opponent, still being tended to by medics and only half conscious, and gave a shallow bow.

He was one of the best Mixed Martial Artists the world had produced in the last decade. Juggernaut of both inborn skill and talent who outweighed me by over 20 pounds. A real veteran of the ring who had a win streak in the mid double digits.  

It hadn't even been close to being enough to touch me. 

The crowd noticed my sarcastic bow and the roaring got even louder. I raised my fist again and smiled.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw my sister, now a beautiful young woman, beaming with pride from the coach's box.  

'I hope Mom is watching...'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Meanwhile, in a house back in Daisen.

"Wooooohhooooo! Yeah! So-kun destroyed that garbage! Death! Death! Death! Yaaaaaaaash"

Nobe Kayano clutched her head with a hand, feeling a headache come on as her houseguest continued her unhinged screaming. 

"So-kun! So-kun! I LOVE YOU! MARRY ME BEFORE I WITHER AWAY! LET'S MAKE BABIES! An enraptured Taki cried as she hugged the TV. 

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

After the roar of the crowd had dissipated, the interviews were over and the crowd had dispersed, I was back in my green room. 

I haphazardly dropped the title belt down on the floor next to the lockers. Ice cold water flowed out of the faucet and into the basin, which I gladly splashed onto my face.

Grabbing a towel, I wiped what little remaining sweat off of my face. Feeling refreshed, I threw back my head, tossing my neck length hair back and out of my eyes. 

I looked at myself. Tanned skin, blue eyes, shaggy dark brown hair. Large prominent tear lines under my eyes and a slightly wider that average nose. Which was slightly crooked from where Harry-san had broken it back when I was 11. 

I narrowed my eyes.

'Damn am I actually kind of ugly?' A face slightly too wide, a nose slightly a little too narrow. Maybe those lines under my eyes were a tiny bit too deep. 

I suddenly missed my old face. And damn didn't that just open a can of emotional worms. 

"Heh, still bitching even after you got to choose your looks." I sneered at myself, resting a heavy fist against the glass, "Spoiled brat." I glared at myself, but in that moment I saw my second Dad's face super imposed over my own. "Yeah, I know."

Almost ten years had passed since he had been murdered. Since my weakness and the cruel whims of fate had let my precious family be ripped apart. 

I was 17 years old and the year was 2021.

Tokyo was still Tokyo and I had just won a hundred and fifty million yen purse for fighting in an international no holds barred fighting tournament. 

I had ended the fight in 29 seconds, which was somewhat expected. After all I had ended all my other fights in about the same time. 9-0, that was my record.

For a lark, I had used Observe on my opponent before we started. 

Level 14, the highest I had ever seen outside the dungeons. It was commendable really. Almost superhuman. The culmination of hundreds of thousands of hours of intensive training. Blood sweat and tears put into forging the ultimate fighter. Something that was no longer human, but greater than. 

I had crushed him without a thought. 

I hadn't even bothered to think about using any of my Job abilities, let alone a talent. 

I sighed and dried my hands on the towel before shutting off the faucet and hanging it back up. 

'And the reason for that is...'

I tugged on my nose and rolled my shoulders.

"Menu."

"Name: Nobe Sogen

Level: 25 (476/2500)

Title: Reincarnate

Race: Human

Age: 17

Karma: 88

HP: 22,500

SP: 20,187

>STR: 18

>CON: 20

>STA: 17

>DEX: 19

>INT: 10

>WIS: 10

>PER: 15

After all, I wasn't human anymore either.

I had even gained a second talent at level 20, setting me even farther apart from the general population. 

"Nii-san!" the door to my green room slammed open and damn near knocked the towel off the hook. I turned slowly, already expecting what was to come. 

'Three, two...' A big bolt of dark hair and feminine energy slammed into me, 'And there it is.'

"Hey Emmy, did your big brother do good?" I held my sister at arms distance as she tried to smother me to death. 

The little Emiru had grown just like I had, Now 15, she was almost as tall as Dad had been, 188cm tall and she might still be growing. She was wide too. At the shoulders and the hips and heavily muscled to boot.

Shamefully, they were both actually taller than I was at 187cm. It was actually embarrassing, a bit of a sore spot. 

She had turned into quite the martial artist herself, though she preferred basketball. An absolute terror on the court and would easily make it on scholarship. She had also become friends with Taki-san, the older woman "taking her under her wing" when she had first started following me to practices back at the dojo. She had even taken to wearing her hair short like her idol. Though hers was a short ponytail instead of a bob-cut. 

"GLOMP!" Like a panther pouncing on a particularly tasty looking fawn, Emiru captured my arm. "More than good! You kicked his ass! Though I bet the promoters are angry, that wasn't even long enough to sell very many ads." 

"Eh, they'll have to deal with it. A win is a win after all." I bent over to shove my discarded fighting trunks into my gym bag, a task made more difficult by the 175 pounds of girly power hanging off my arm. I finished packing and grabbed the shirt that I'd be wearing out. "Hnh, Emiru-chan, I need my arm back, you know."

"Maybe you should go out like this, increase your popularity in the female demo." My sister teased and I rolled my eyes. I didn't know if it was the effects of the game or the effects of almost non stop physical conditioning, but I was built like tank, with almost no body fat. Just as my sister had the wide shoulders of our Dad, so did I, even more pronounced because I was a man. The muscles were probably because of my STR perk and having the advantage of a defacto healing factor. Any damage done to my muscles was repaired in an hour or so. Though thankfully they had kind of "maxed out" at this point, so I wasn't in any danger of losing my neck.

"Yeah, no. I'm good." I lifted the taller girl off the ground with one arm and gently shook her off. 

My sister squeaked adorably as she fell on her rear end. 

"Nii-san is so mean!" she fake cried, though she quickly recovered and used her hands to launch herself back onto her feet. Using that intervening time wisely, I quickly slipped my T-shirt over my head.  

"Do you think Mom was watching?" I casually asked as I gathered my things, making sure my wallet was in place.

"Taki-san said she was going to visit, so I'm sure she did." My sister held up a contemplative finger, "Why?"

"No, just that's good." Kayano had never fully recovered from my father's death. It's not like.she was always depressed or what not. It was just the little things. Having someone around to keep her company was good for her.

We had bought a nice house in the suburbs of Daisen, They had been saving for one anyways, but the Death Benefit had made so that she didn't have to work and my Dad's pension paid our bills. Life would of been good, but the way of getting there had soured everything. Mom had never been happy with me learning how to fight, probably worried that she would lose me too.

'Which makes what I'm about to do even worse. God I'm an asshole.' 

But it needed to happen, I had gamed this through thousands of times over the years. I had a plan. Not a very good one. But it was there and this next step was important.

I believed I was already strong enough, but I needed certain assets to assure my win this game. The Sekirei plan, while important to the meta, it was stupid. I didn't really remember the desired end state for Minaka, just something about a fight against Miya, the alien ship and all the killed Sekirei being revived. What was the point? Minaka had already received his billions by exploiting the alien tech on that island and he was already a massive influence on the world stage. 

No, I thought back to those manic eyes and that fervent rambling speech. He wasn't in it for any material gain or personal power. The man was a revolutionary, a true believer, an ideologue. The kind of man who would march over a mountain of corpses on the way to his envisioned utopia.

I was going to try and fuck that all up. And get revenge. Just the thought of that pompous "genius" stoked the burning embers of hatred in my belly. 

Come to think of it, Musubi had said something about the "Professor" saying the prize was to be with their destined one forever. Poor sekirei. They really were innocent in all of this. Even the ones that I was going to put down for the benefit of my own selfish hatred. 

I didn't really know what to do anymore. 

"So, Sogen, what are you going to do with all that money? Take your little sister out on the town? Paris? Luxury hand bags?" Emiru turned her back to me and waved her hand. "Oh no, no you really didn't have to, too generous."

"I was thinking of donating to your college fund actually. Get you out of the house and finally and give mom a break."

The full nelson was expected and I quickly arched my back and gently but firmly grabbed her forearm, instinctively finding the pressure points in her wrist and lightly squeezing. 

"Ow fuck!" The moment I felt her grip weaken, elbow to create distance, turn, throw. My sister, faster than she could realize, found herself on her rear end again. 

"Owie! Again? Seriously big bro, your like the Flash or something. How do you do that?" 

"It's a family secret, men only."

"Eh fuck you."

"Oh? Now the real Emiru appears? Where did my sweet little sister get to?" Next thing I knew she was back in my face. 

"Why you..." 

"Heh, loud as ever I see. Is my Taki-chan really rubbing off on you that much Emiru-chan?" Before she could finish her threat Harry walked in through the open door, his jacket held in his hand. It was the same red and gold as my trunks had been. "I guess I need talk to her about corrupting the youth." He looked at me then fiddled with his watch. Obviously he was stalling for time, composing his thoughts.

"You know if someone told me this is what would end up happening back then, a decade ago when my old friend showed up out of the blue and asked me to train his snot nose kid, I would of called em' insane." He shook his head and I couldn't really help but agree. "You're growing into one hell of a man kid."  

It was insane. Even though he was my coach for this match, I had surpassed Harry long ago. In fact, I had mastered tons of different martial arts styles during the past 10 years. It was child's play in the end. Still to hear him say that. This was a man who had known me for most of my life and I still respected him, even now.

"Thanks Harry-san, I couldn't of done this without you." I smiled as the man came closer and clapped me on the shoulder. He looked me right in the eye, face serious again. 

"Sogen, you do know your Dad would be proud of you right? And you'll always have a home at Battle Royale." He smirked and swatted his hand against my chest. "Even if Taki-chan might blow a gasket if you ever take me up on that."

"Hah! I think'd I'd be the one suffering in that situation!" I laughed. Seriously though, that woman was crazy. Always had been. 

Pulling me into a side hug, my father's old friend steered me towards the door. Emiru grabbed my other side and affixed herself there. 

"So "champ", what's next? UFC? Biopic? The Wheaties Box? World Domination?" Harry cajoled me in a good natured manner.

I stopped, halting them both as I looked from one to another, family and friend. 

'This is going to kill Mom.' Again, inside I felt like burning garbage. 'I'm sorry.'

Outside I smiled. 

"Nope, I think I'm sick of martial arts, I'm going to enlist in the JGSDF tomorrow."

"WHAAAATTT?!" Both of them screamed and I grinned, genuinely amused by their reaction even if I could see it coming a mile away.  

"It's just something I have to do." That's the best I could explain that. Harry stepped away with a dumbfounded look on his face. I didn't see it but I know Emiru had one similar on hers.

"Tha-thats crazy! I mean, Sogen-kun, don't let this get to your head, but you are literally the best I've ever seen!"

I fixed him with a somber look.

"I know, that's why I'm done. There's nothing left to learn." That sounded arrogant even by my standards. I grabbed the stupefied hafu and put both of my meaty hands on his shoulders, "It's time to move on." He nodded and I switched one of my hands to hold onto Emiru as well. I gave them my best convincing smile and they returned with reticent ones. 

Time to move on indeed 

Just not from revenge.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

'Bored.' 

A pencil was flicked to the top of a desk, fighting against gravity as it was forcefully propelled almost to the edge. Slanted at just the right angle, when it finished it's assisted ascent, it would roll back down until it was flicked again. 

'Bored.' 

A small foot bounced on it's toes, excess energy bleeding out in useless movement. 

'Bored!' 

Slouched over in her seat with her head lolled to the side and in the palm of her hand, a young teenage girl attempted everything she could think of to stay awake.

It was a losing battle. 

"When you find your destined one, you will have to fight for your love. That is the meaning behind the search for your destined one. A journey of true sacrifice of..." She tuned the narrators voice out, the TV playing the same stupid video for the hundredth time. 

Flick, the pencil make the trip up the desk again. 

She looked to her left. A mousy blonde haired girl sat there taking notes.

Taking notes!

"Tch." the pink haired girl rolled her eyes. They watched this video at least once a week, what the hell was there to take notes on? 

Moron's, she was surrounded by them. 

Speaking of which,

"Hey! Hey, Haihane!" she whispered, trying to get the attention of the short haired pale girl sitting at the desk next to her. A girl who was busy staring vacantly ahead as if she was in a daze. "Yo, q-tip, I'm talking to you!" she tried again, voice slowly increasing in volume. "Haihane!"

"Shhhhhh!" the pink haired girl whipped her head around, back to the mousy girl that had been taking notes earlier. The girl in question stared at her and raised a finger to her lips. Though after the look she got in return from those crimson eyes, she was quick to look away. 

"Tch, coward." The girl turned her attention to the white haired girl. 

"Haihane, I know you can hear me."

Still no response. Growling, she picked up her pencil and whipped it at the side of the absent minded girl's head. 

"Ow." The now named Haihane finally moved, rubbing the spot on her temple where the pencil had whacked her. She slowly turned to regard her attacker. Smiling that the plan had worked, the red-eyed girl flashed a toothy grin.

"Do you have any of that gum left?" 

Haihane regarded her silently for a second before turning her head back to the front. "No and even if I did, I wouldn't give any to you."

The other girl stuck out her tongue in response, before slumping back into her chair.

'Bored.' 

Wake up. Eat. Go to classes. Eat. Go to more classes. Go see one of the doctors. Eat for the last time. Take a shower. Go to sleep. 

The same schedule over and over again. The only variations being adjustment sessions. 

It was enough to drive a girl mad.  

Maybe it already had?

Her foot unconsciously swung forward, tapping the bottom of the seat in front of her. 

The only escape for her were the combat classes. Which usually were centered around pummeling each other until one side surrendered. 

 As a fist type Sekirei, she felt like she could go wild, and as weapons were not allowed due to "security concerns", she always had the advantage against most others.. Not that that mattered to her. Morons deserved to be beat into the ground and her fellow fledgling's ranks were chalk full of them. The only downside was they didn't seem to concerned in actually teaching them how to fight. Just getting them used to it. Oh well, with her self made techniques and power, there wasn't any one that could stand in her way!

Though sometimes, even though she loved the thrill of the fight, the feeling if dominating her opponents, in the end it all felt kind of pointless. Realizing that always put her in a crappy mood. Which was actually bad news for her sparring partners. So it sucked to be them.

Her bad temper was well known by the adjusters and training staff at this point. Part of that was attention seeking, part of it was frustration with her current situation. And part of it was that she felt like she had a hole in her being, like something was missing that would make her, well her. What was the point of being strong if she felt like this? 

'I wonder if everyone feels this way? Eh, shitty.' She crossed her arms and scowled, leaning her chair back and balancing on the rear legs. 

"When an Ashikabi comes near a mature Sekirei, the resulting changes in the Sekirei's body are known as a "reaction". You might be confused at these new and unique feelings, but it's ok, it's totally normal! It's something that every Sekirei goes through. Recognizable symptoms include, heavy heartbeat, dry mouth, difficulty thinking, feeling hot, sexual arousal..."

'Blah blah blah.'

On the screen, a picture of man and woman was shown, they were smiling at each other and holding hands. 

"Blegh!" She made a loud gagging noise and dropped the chair back flat. Surprisingly, most of the class broke out tittering. Save for miss Shush-your-face who just scowled at her. 

'What's the point in being strong if you don't have anything to gain?'   

She lightly resumed kicking the back of the chair in front of her. 

'I wonder what my Ashikabi will be like? I hope he's soft and cuddly and a good cook and-'

"Could you fucking stop?" The girl in front if her, a tall green haired amazon looking one, had turned around. She kept an innocent face as she regarded the vein pulsing in the other girl's forehead. 

"What, this?" she swung her leg harder, now visibly shaking the other's seat. 

"Yes! Knock it off!"

"Neh, neh, I was getting tired moving your fat ass anyways." The red eyed girl smirked and stuck out her tongue. 

"I'LL KILL YOU!" The larger girl exploded out of her chair, snapping the back clear off in her rage.

The pink haired girl laughed and cracked her neck. 

'Guess combat class starts early.' She grinned. 'Fun.'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Sahashi Takami rubbed the bridge of her nose. 

'Goddammit Takehito.' she cursed her fellow scientist for running away from all this. For leaving her alone with Minaka's insanity and the S-Plan's unpredictable nature. A deadly combination.

Most of their discoveries relating to the biology of the Sekirei came from Takehito. Without him, they were just coasting off the fumes of his absent genius. Minaka would never willingly set foot in a lab, instead preferring to gallivant around with world leaders and NGO's, building the business juggernaut that was M.B.I rather than take actual responsibility for his pet project.

That was just it though, she believed Minaka was treating the fate of the sekirei as a game. M.B.I. made its money off the alien technology that accompanied their unruly wards on their one way trip to earth. The aliens themselves were pretty much worthless outside of whatever value could be placed on curiosity. That's why she didn't have much of a problem in entertaining her boss and occasional lover's plot to make them fight each other to the death in a theatrical battle royale. The promised prize at the end of which was nebulous at best, not even she knowing what the "reward" actually entailed. 

It's not that she had anything personally against the human-like creatures. Most of them were actually kind and good-natured, if a little simple minded. No, it was just she had a hard time seeing them as anything other than a product. She had after all, been there from the beginning, when they were all nothing more than a 108 or so embryos in various stages of development. They had gone through dozens of rounds of genetic tampering since then, sometimes she wondered whether if there was much left of the original species remaining. It was almost as if they had been designed to be biologically pliable. Maybe that was a hypothesis worth investigating, but then again, no money in it, so why bother?

The most worrying thing is they didn't even know what the original purpose of the aliens was in visiting earth. 

Were they colonists, infiltrators, soldiers, explorers or something else? Prisoners? Experiments? The space ship's databases had been damaged beyond salvaging, her expert's consensus was the ship was hit with a huge amount of solar radiation, which had bypassed whatever protections the ship had possessed and fried many of the more complicated devices. 

No. 1 had been next to useless as well. Unlike the other subjects, No. 1 was not actually a Sekirei, or at least not the same as the rest of them on a genetic and biological level. It had been fully matured and plugged into the ship while also being interned in its stasis pod, though the reason for that connection was unknown. As she had said, the creature known as Miya, was like a blank slate. She would accept any order given by an ashikabi gene possessor and would kill without hesitation. It had been Takehito that had taken an interest in it, training the alien to act as though it was a human. Since it didn't require a donor to complete its core, it was able to exist on its own without dying from the core destabilization that long term mature unwinged units would suffer from.  

Of course before they could get any answers out of it, Takehito up and retired from MBI, taking No. 1 with him. Probably as a little insurance as well. No. 1 was an absolute monster, capable of moving at supersonic speeds and strong enough to rip apart steel with her bare hands. Practically invulnerable as well, with only needles made from the same strange alien alloy found in the crashed spacecraft being able to pierce her skin. Throw in the ability to manifest and manipulate solid energy, let's just say there was a reason Takehito was allowed to leave. Even with all the information he had on M.B.I.'s more "unethical" projects.

Last she had heard the two were playing at being husband at wife at some inn in Tokyo. Not that she wished them any real harm of course. It was just frustrating having to pick up all the pieces after the blatant dereliction of duty.

One such out of place piece stood in front of her desk, clasping her arms behind her back and trying to look everywhere but in her direction. 

"This is getting repetitive 105." Takami shuffled through the file, quickly reading the newest incident report as well as the little sekirei's latest test results.

The alien in question mumbled something, but Takami didn't hear it clearly. Still she took her time, reading the report in full, acutely aware of the fidgeting going on in front of her desk.  

Finished, she tossed the file to the side and scrutinized the reason for this meeting. 

'Damn that Number 04, if we weren't short on adjusters I wouldn't be stuck here playing babysitter!' Takami frowned, which caused 105 to flinch. Karasuba had killed another adjuster, on accident or otherwise, but they still had to deal with a broken neck and a jumbled schedule. As a result, she wasn't able to get back to the mainland to visit her family. Really, it was ruining her mood. 

Minato was getting ready to graduate high school and she had been woefully absent. Another notch on her belt towards world's worst mother. Maybe Yukari would give her a chance at redemption. But then again, it's not like she deserved that particular outcome.

"Did you have something to say?" She sternly asked.

105 made an "eep" sound and nearly jumped out of her skin. Takami waited patiently for her to compose herself. 

"My...is...sa" she mumbled something while wringing her little hands together. The scientist rolled her eyes. She flipped a pen in her hand and tapped it on the desk. She didn't have time to play psychiatrist to every crazy alien with self esteem issues.

"Are you done, 104, if so can we-"

"My name is Benitsubasa!" the little sekirei shouted with her hands at her sides and with a volume that was not at all consistent with her tiny body. Takami rubbed her forehead.

'Yeah that's more in line of what I expected. She's one of the loud ones..." She had forgotten this particular model's quirks. Even though this wasn't the first time she had to deal with this situation with this particular subject. Number 105 was one of the more highly tuned models, focused on aggression and combat prowess. It had just been a busy week.

If it was up to her, she would of been scrapped and recycled, seeing as she was much too unpredictable and violent to be released into the plan as is. 

But Minaka had other plans apparently, as her file indicated a "Special Assignment" earmark. That was rare, there were only a few of those among the test subjects. 55, 63, 104 and 04. 105 was recent addition, she hadn't had that designation during their last interaction.

She looked at the girl, unnatural pink colored hair tied in a short pony tail with angular bangs, expressive red eyes and a small heart shaped face. She had to admit the alien was an attractive being, but so were all of her kind, so that was nothing of note.

"Fine, Benitsubasa." The girl smiled brightly and relaxed her body, letting her fists go. "I take it you know why we're here."

"Because I pounded the snot out of some morons? Who cares? They were trash anyways." Benitsubasa disdainfully stated, crossing her arms. 

 Yes, most of the sekirei were pleasant. Most.

"You shattered No. 16's rib cage and almost terminated 35. Four others suffered damage of varying degrees. Then you ignored orders from staff to stand down and attacked a guard when they tried to restrain you. We had to gas the room, just to mitigate the chance of any more damage."

"Why are you worrying about weaklings? Only the strongest get the right to complain! Isn't that how it is?" the little sekirei excitedly exclaimed, voice rising in volume until she was shouting again. 

"Is that how you view it?" The older woman asked, annoyed with the loud noises coming out of 105's mouth. "Doesn't that make it a bit nonsensical to act this way this? You have no reason to act so aggressively against the other subjects. There is nothing to gain from doing so at this point."

Of course Takami knew they would be fighting for the maniac's whims eventually, but none of the Sekirei knew that. Well, besides No. 2 perhaps, that one was also a pain in her ass. She could still remember when their cyber-security decision had finally ID'd the culprit behind a rash of security breaches that had been driving the department crazy. Though in the end it was luck and the naive nature of No. 2 that clued them in. The security cameras ended up recording her messing with an Ethernet port in her cell at the same time a specific security incident was logged. Even more outrageous was WHY she was generating those security log entries. 

Unauthorized use of company networks to access restricted sites.

In other words, porn. Lot's of it. Multiple times. After all, they didn't catch her on the first go. Of course, having two teenagers herself it wasn't THAT surprising. 

As a result she was no longer allowed unsupervised interactions with other subjects or access to electronics. Thankfully the truly sensitive projects operated on parallel networks and thus were spared from her spying.

"Non-nons-nonsiscynical?" Benitsubasa's cute little nose crinkled as she tested the unfamiliar word.

"This is the third such incident this month. Unauthorized destruction of company property is strictly forbidden in the M.B.I. employee handbook." Takami decided to use the stick, she had the feeling the carrot would not work with this one. She set her face to be as stoic and possible. "If it were up to me, I'd have had you scrapped by now."

The little fledglings eyes went wide as saucers and her legs began shaking as she held up her hands in a defensive position.

"No please! I'll be good, no more fighting!" she pleaded, and for a second Takami's heart was squeezed. Until she remembered the bruises on the guards face and body. A child's appearance or not, this alien was both violent and unstable. If fear was an effective way of controlling it, then so be it. "I'll do anything!"

'However, let's see what happens when I prod a little bit in the other direction, let's call it an experiment.' the scientist clasped her hands in front of her on the desk and leaned back in her chair. "Hmmm, anything? That's not something a fearsome warrior would say now is it? Begging for your life is a smart decision here though, I suppose you might live long enough to find your destined one after all."

"I don't need a stupid Ashikabi!" she shouted again, but this time her cheeks were colored crimson. 

'They really are such simple creatures.' The scientist sighed and scratched her cheek.

"Methinks thou dost protest too much." Takami deadpanned. 'Like a hard candy with a gooey inside. Kukukukuku.' 

"Huh? I don't understand!" She ignored the sekirei's confusion and continued.

"Regardless of your understanding, it has been determined that allowing you to intermingle with the other sekirei is unproductive." She stated, laughing internally as the little alien's face warred between apprehension and pride, then dropped into fear.

"What does that mean?" she asked and Takami rolled her eyes. 

"It means you will no longer attend your classes with the sekirei you are familiar with, we will have to arrange for something else."

Well it was on the schedule anyways, why not save some time and advance 105 to the special project branch earlier than expected.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Something else, turned out to be a new room, turns out someone else had just had a very similar talk to another one of her classmates. She had been called into the directors office and told that she would be placed in a "Special Project" division and that would entail new quarters. 

Which would of been fine. Her old one was just four walls, a foot locker and a bed. The problem was, it also came with new roommates. 

"Can you stop breathing, it's hard to sleep."  

"Don't you mean 'please stop breathing so loud, yo'!?"

"Yeah, that too." 

 Sekirei-104, Haihane, ignored her bickering roommates. This was the first day of her new "training program" and they had already had two shouting matches within an hour. Once they had come to blows and the second time a rather raucous arm-wrestling contest had taken place. 

Oh how she wished that nice guard had given her some headphones to go with this game system. She would ask him, but she hadn't been able to find him since. She had looked, but he had disappeared off the face of the earth. 

'Oh well, it was easy to get, I could let another guard take pictures of my feet, maybe get some headphones that way.'

Lying in her bed on the bottom of what she was told was called a "bunk bed", her eyes were glued to the screen. Lost in the world of this brave fat little red man and his silly green lizard friend, her mind was blissfully empty. 

'I hope my Ashikabi likes to play this game. Maybe, we could even...play together.' The white haired girl blushed. 

When she was playing her game, nothing else seemed to matter. Sometimes, she secretly wished she could go live in that world. No more fighting or classes or needles. No more annoying roommates.

"What's that?" Speaking of which, something pink and soft fell down from the top bunk. That shock of brightly colored hair continued to descend until Benitsubasa's upside down face peered at her.

Haihane rolled over, facing towards the wall, her Game Boy still clutched in her hands. 

"HaiHai, how'd you get that?" her annoying roommate questioned, flipping over and landing on her bed. The mattress rocked and next thing she knew she had an unwanted visitor hovering over her shoulder. 

'Please go away, please go away, please go away.' Haihane wished, steadfastly ignoring the other girl in an attempt to make her lose interest. She only had so many hours in the day that she was allowed to play her game and Benitsubasa would not leave it alone. Which was always a bad thing, that tended to lead to even worse things. 

A rising tension, one that would come whenever her patience was being tested. A bloodlust, an uncontrolled desire for violence.

She hated that part of her. Because every time it happened, it made her lose control. And that was scary. It's why, unlike Benitsubasa, she didn't like to fight. Being a passenger in her own body, that was bad. Not like in the game, where she was the one always in charge.

'Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill.' The voices inevitably started rising when the other girl reached for her game. She swatted the hand away and curled up even tighter, focusing exclusively on the game. 

"Hey Haihane, I just want to see it! I'll give it back. Promise!" 

"Look you jerk, she obviously doesn't want to talk to you, so leave her alone, yo." Someone else called out haughtily from the other bunk. 

Benitsubasa rounded on the other, jumping off of Haihane's bed and striding up to the other girl and putting her hands on her hips. 

"Shut up Suppai! Nobody asked you what you think! If I wanted to hear something stupid, I'd talk to you some more!" 

"Idiot. The only one talking is you! All day, all you do is get angry over and over and over again. You're constantly looking for things to get pissed off about, yo!"

"I don't need to look for anything to piss me off when your big ugly forehead is right there!" Benitsubasa was pissed, but the other sekirei wasn't backing down.

"It's like a shitty song, over and over, but it only has one note, yo! Reee! Reeee! Ree!"

"I'll kill you!"

She heard the brief sound of a scuffle and then; 

"Please avoid any violence, Director Sahashi-dono expressly forbids it" A flat lifeless voice, one not heard so far, stated.

Haihane beat the level she was on, watching as the little fat man pulled down the flag and ran into a castle. 

'I wonder if my Ashikabi would be like that. Not fat, but willing to fight a fire breathing turtle for me.' she fantasized, ignoring the row that was continuing just beyond her sight.

"Holy cow! She was freakin' invisible! How the hell did you do that?" Benitsubasa shrieked. "And wait, who the hell are you?"

"I am No. 55. Designation: Saki." the monotone sounding person responded.

"Why do you sound like a robot, yo?" 

"What is a robot?" The dull voice questioned, sounding just a little bit confused. 

"I don't know know, I just know they talk like that, yo." The sound of someone stamping their feet rang out in the little bedroom

"She was fucking invisible! What are you a voyager? And you live here? No, no, no, not going to happen, there's no room, I need that bunk for my workouts!" 

"It's 'voyeur' you pink gorilla and what workouts, yo? I've been with you all day and all you've done is sleep and complain, yo!" 

"I swear if hear 'yo' one more..."

Haihane tuned it all out as best she could.

Yeah, roommates suck.     

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

I stepped off of the bullet train and breathed in the poignant Tokyo air. 

Er, Shinto Teito. Sorry, got to get with the times. That change had been made two months ago, announced via a joint press conference between M.B.I. and the Japanese Prime Minister. It had also been announced that the country's capital would be moving back to it's historical seat in Kyoto. I guess to maintain the illusion of independence. 

I laughed internally. Oh how thin the veil is. 

A "City of Tomorrow" and a "Special Economic Zone", the mega-corporation had just legally acquired 80% of property interests in the former mega-city. Eminent domain was a hell of a concept to wrap your head around and millions of Shinto Teito residents now had to contend with no longer having sole legal ownership of their property. It was pure theft, made legal by the decrees of a group of people that were supposedly elected to represent the interests of the public at large. 

If that wasn't insane enough, the local police forces had been dissolved overnight and newly trained corporate law enforcement were showing up to work in the thousands, occupying all the old precincts. 

The protests were massive and ongoing. I guess this change was too much on the face to bear, even for my usually passive countrymen.

There were also rumors of violent crackdowns, but evidence was sparse, criticizing openly an organization that had a complete ISP dominance and technology that was arguably centuries ahead of everyone else was exceedingly difficult.  

'They must be manipulating social media something fierce.' I grimaced, getting in a long line made up of other former passengers. I could see up ahead that we were being funneled into a security checkpoint.

'I guess the right to free travel no longer exists. Groovy.' I grimly mentally commented. At least I could still do that 

There were massive signs posted on the walls, informing passengers that they were now entering private property and that admission to said premises included implied consent to waiver of all liability held by M.B.I. and its subsidiaries. On the other wall was a list of restricted items and instructions on how to proceed through the security screening. 

I pursed my lips. This was worse than it was made up to be in the manga and anime. Already I could see the stress and indignant stares on hundreds of faces as we slowly shuffled forward. 

The city was going to be a powder keg. 

I reached the conveyer belt leading to the x-ray machine and waited patiently for the elderly man in front of her to finish emptying his pockets. 

I didn't have much on me. Just my personal effects and a couple of changes of clothing and a computer. My contract with the JGSDF had just ended a week ago, I hadn't really had any time to go shopping. What little else that I owned was getting shipped back to mom's. 

I had returned to Daisen for a week to visit with her and my sister. My mom hadn't said anything about it but I knew she was relieved that I hadn't renewed my contract.

Emiru had also been excited to see me. It had been a month or so since I had last visited and I couldn't believe how mature she was beginning to look. She was going to be attending her sophomore year at college, having gotten that basketball scholarship with relative ease.    

It was now 2028 and I was 25 years old. 7 years and two contract's with the military later, I was finally out. 

'Still no flying cars, damn.'

I placed my duffel bag on the conveyer belt and emptied my pockets. Satisfied with my self pat down, I waited in front of what I assumed to be a metal detector. 

"Next." The security guard beyond the archway motioned for me to move forward. As I walked through the arch, a green light pulsed, scanning over my body from head to toe. 

'Yeah that's not a metal detector.' 

No alarms went off, so I proceeded to wait for my bag and effects to come through the scanner. As I passed the guard, I appraised his uniform. 

Black BDU's, rifle resistant body armor and a kevlar helmet, also in black. Goggles covered most of his face while a grey balaclava covered the rest. The words "Security Service" was printed on his body armor front and back, his helmet and both sleeves. A tactical short range radio was strapped to his chest, the whip antenna velcroed to his shoulder. 

7 magazines with one in the weapon, a common combat load, were placed in pouches along his belly and a pistol was sheathed in a drop holster on his hip. Slung on his back was a brand stinking new Howa Type-20 assault rifle with a holographic sight. 

Basically the same kit as the standard infantryman in army that I had just left, so it was obvious that M.B.I. had spared no expense. Especially if the poured concrete mobile fortifications just behind the checkpoint were any indication. 

Gathering my things I left the checkpoint behind and moved to the exit which led to a large room, with a bunch of counters that people were being funneled towards. I noticed that some people went to another line where they held up their hand to a turnstile before being admitted inside. Those must be residents and they apparently were chipped. 

How dystopian.  

Stepping up to one after the light above it turned green, I was regarded by a woman in the same uniform as the men out front, sans the rifle and helmet. She instead wore a black colored patrol cap with the "Security Forces" logo printed in yellow above the brim. 

"ID."

I handed her my national ID and she began typing into her workstation. 

"Purpose of your visit to Shinto Teito?" She asked, though she didn't sound very invested in my answer. 

"Looking for work."

"Anticipated length of stay?"

"I don't know."

"I'll just put 30 days. It's a formality anyways." This was the first sign of personality from her and she wasn't bad looking. 

"Oh, this is all pretty crazy right? I mean, it's all pretty sudden. Are you from here?" 

She blushed and tilted her cap to hide. 

"Uh, no, I'm from Okinawa actually."

"Have you worked for MBI long here in Shinto Teito?" I really tried to lay the charm on, even hit her with my best smile, idly stretching my arm behind my back. My massive triceps bulged with the move.

"Uh, uh, no. I was working elsewhere until a little while ago, we all recently moved to Toky-er I mean Shinto Teito." She handed me back my ID and looked at me in the eyes for the first time.

"Umm, if that's all Nobe-san, you ca-" 

"What's it like working for M.B.I. anyways, I'm thinking of applying for a job. Seems like a company on the up and up."

"Oh! I-its pretty good, really uh, unique. Um, here!" she reached into her desk and pulled out a pamphlet with a QR code on it. "Um, you just scan it and it'll take you to the jobs page of the website. I know they're hiring all the time so I'm sure you'll be able to find one." 

I grabbed the pamphlet and began to walk away, but not before turning and winking at her. 

"Thank's Naya-san!" I turned and walked towards the exit, ignoring the "Eep" I heard coming from behind me, I held the pamphlet in my hand. She never asked how I knew her name. Observe really was a useful skill to mess with people sometimes. 

"New Quest Added: Get a Job

Reward: 125xp" 

"Heh."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

"If you have any questions Nobe-san, don't hesitate to call me!" 

"Thank you for having me Nakade-san. I will." I bowed to my new landlord. He was a widower, 62 and level 5. He seemed like a nice guy. 

I had saved up quite a bit of cash during my time in the service, plus I had spent almost none of the purse from so long ago. Instead it was sitting half in CB's and half in precious metal. 

Not that I would of needed it anyways. I was a very rich man. 

How, you ask? Well I cheated. 

A fond memory suddenly played in my mind. Of a much younger Emiru and I. It was 2009 and I had been sitting at my Dad's computer for hours. My sister had been by my side as usual, playing with some toy or something. When she looked up. 

"Wats that!" she exclaimed, one of the only phrases she knew. 

"I'm mining Bitcoin." I replied, hoping my Dad wouldn't kill me over the power bill next month. 

"Oooohh! Mine, mine, this is mine!" she clutched the stuffed toy to her chest. 

I don't know why I remembered that, it was just a funny memory.

Either way, I had sold most of my BTC in 2019. Big shout out to the R.O.B. that lined up the timeline in both universes at least. 

So I was extremely rich, extremely strong and extremely prepared. I mean I wasn't Tech CEO rich, but I wouldn't be working if I didn't want to. 

'Maybe buy a condo for each girl. Hmm.' My lecherous thoughts were interrupted when my phone rang.

"Mushi, mushi. Hey Harry-san...no, I just got in...Yeah it feels good to be out, the last year was like a prison sentence...Sorry, I was only in town for a week. Next time I'll make sure to stop in...No, honestly I just want to work right now, sorry. How's Taki? Oh really? Married? poor bastard, how long?...Well, send my well wishes...Ok, it was good to talk to you too, bye!" Hanging up, I took out my toiletries and rustled a change of bed clothes out of my back pack. 

30 minutes later, I collapsed spread eagled into my futon. 

'25 fucking years. I'm finally here.' I was caught between being ecstatic and scared witless. 'I hope I'm strong enough.'

Truth be told, my first life had been steadily fading from my mind. Even with a decent WIS score, the massive distinction between the one I had before and the one I had now was too big for my mind to rectify. And that made me sad, I never wanted to forget my old self, but it also made all of this more real. Sometimes I asked myself if I was always Nobe Sogen, and the other life was just a dream. I might of fallen for that too, if not for the game. It was always there, hovering just outside my perception, judging my performance. A silent observer.   

I had not wasted much time the past 7 years. I had unlocked most of the "Soldier" job as well as continued to fill in my gaps in martial artist. I had cleared three more dungeons and gotten three more gacha tokens. The first roll had gotten me a "Mysterious Ruby Scarab", the second "Gloves of +10 Strength". 

"Item: Mysterious Ruby Scarab

Quality: Legendary

This Ruby Scarab is of excellent craftsmanship and exudes an air of antiquity.

Effects: Afflicts the bearer with the Curse of Garret."

Yeah, it didn't become any clearer the hundredth time I read it.

The gloves were pretty cool, too bad they weren't one size fits all, I could barely fit four of my fingers in them. The last token, I hadn't redeemed yet. 

'Maybe that'll break the place in! Yeah, screw it, a new place with new luck!' I sat up and turned my lamp on. 

The apartment was pretty small, just a 10mx10m with a bathroom and kitchenette. It was only temporary after all. I would be moving on eventually but for right now I just needed somewhere to stay. 

I selected the gacha token in my inventory and instantly the familiar machine appeared. 

I grabbed the handle and pulled, watching the ball fell down the ramp. I followed it with my eyes on the way down.  

I had also maxed out the observe skill a while ago. It was now able to give more information, that being "Emotional State" and "Threat Level". Both useful, especially the former. It turned out to be great for picking up chicks.

There had been some disappointments though, it hadn't all been winning. 

Turns out once you killed the boss in a dungeon, that was it for XP. No matter how many more trips you made, no more experience points were awarded. You could still harvest potions and other drops though, so it wasn't a complete loss. 

Now why couldn't I just play the level over and over again without killing the boss? Well, it's because the R.O.B. is a Dick. If you exited the dungeon early, all that XP would go poof! It was clearly an anti-grinding measure and one I had grown to accept.

So instead, I had quests for XP out of the dungeons. I hadn't "defeated" anything outside of the dungeon, mainly because I wanted to fly under the radar and the JGSDF wasn't at actual war with anyone, thankfully! 

Quests were still random with both their appearances and the reward given. That's why my progress had been so slow these past few years. Though I hoped my Job abilities would make up for that. 

I couldn't imagine the run of the mill sekirei to be much of a threat. They didn't seem so capable or dangerous from what the source material had showed. The big exception being the single numbers and some random additional characters. 

I felt a strange emotion at the thought of meeting with them. I wondered what they would be like in real life?

Anticipation? Nervousness. My initial gut born hatred over the death of my father had faded somewhat, but would it come back? Did they deserve what they had coming? 

"Plink"

The sound of the capsule hitting the bottom of the chute broke me from my reverie. I reached down and deftly plucked up my prize. Yawning, I sat back down on my futon, one leg up the other splayed down straight. 

I rolled the capsule between my fingers and leaned back against the wall. I knew I was the strongest mortal man in the world. But what did that get me? 

'A loving family and a chance to live again.' I knew I was being petulant. I was grateful for everything I had. "It's just I dunno, maybe I'm feeling this is the last bit of normal I'll have."

The calm before the storm. 

I popped the lid off the capsule and directed away from me, the confetti and glitter shooting off into the corner of the room.

I checked my inventory.

'Congratulations! New Item Added: Invisible Knife'

I made a sour face, ugh, I had to know. 

'Observe'

'Invisible Knife: A unbreakable knife that also happens to be invisible. Don't throw!

Effects: Cut something to make it invisible, cut it again to make it visible.'

I laid back down. At least it wasn't cake. 

The next morning, I was up with the rising sun. There was a lot of stuff to do. Shopping, searching for a job, luring in a perverted alien, learning the lay of the land. Normal stuff.

I stretched, ate a leftover sandwich from last night for breakfast and brushed my teeth. It was also a goal of mine to locate the Izumo Inn and do some recon. 

Number 1, Miya, was the most dangerous threat to me that I knew of and she was also on my naughty list. I wasn't sure if her husband was alive or dead, but that wasn't the main reason for seeking the building out. 

I knew that Matsu (my heart fluttered a little in anticipation of meeting one of my "childhood" crushes, what would she be like? Was she still a massive pervert?) was hiding from M.B.I. at the Inn. She had stolen a Junpi? Janpee? Something and fled to the relative safety of Miya's protection. I would have to find them and play nice until I had what I wanted.

Problem is, I didn't know where in the timeline we were. If she had already escaped from that bastard Minaka. Or if she had even stolen the item to begin with. How soon after that did the sekirei plan begin? How long did each of the phases last? 

I had no idea. I did know that the main character would be coming to take an entrance exam to Todai, or Tokyo University and those exams took place in Januaryish, So seeing as it was July, at the very least I had some time. Time to put some plans in motion.

Most of it relied on me getting my claws into Matsu. Maybe if that wasn't possible I could go for that other hacker type Sekirei that the one bad guy had. 

I slipped on some jeans and a pink and teal orchid patterned Hawaiian shirt before I grabbed the M.B.I. pamphlet along with my other stuff. 

Out on the street, I was once again reminded of how much I stood out, being over 187 cm in a crowd of people who averaged 172 cm. That and my blue eyes would of marked me as a gajin, except there was no mistaking the rest of me for anything besides Japanese. 

I used my phone to find north and started walking. I didn't really have a plan for this specific part. Shinto Teito was huge and trying to find a single inn would be damn near impossible. Didn't help that the business "Izumo Maison" didn't appear in any online searches. 

So I just walked and walked. It was a nice day out, so I really had nothing to lose. As it approached midday, I stopped and grabbed a corn dog from a street vendor. It was good. I munched away as I wandered different neighborhoods and districts. Though I did end up having a landmark to guide me, funny I really didn't notice it until it became impossible not to. 

The M.B.I. building dwarfed every single other structure in the city. It wasn't even close. It's official name was Teito Tower. A marvel of engineering, probably only possible through exploitation of the technology pilfered from the alien wreckage. 

At the very top, over a hundred stories high, I could see the beginnings of a clock tower, the top of which was still under construction. That was another tell that gave me confidence in assessing the tentative timeline I was working with. 

'Man, there are cameras freakin' everywhere. No wonder they could put on a game like that here.' I stopped as a sound that I vaguely recognized from long ago began to echo up the street. The thrum of large diesel engines slowly getting closer and closer.  

Two venerable HMMWV, humvees, rolled by. Blacked out windows and the Security Service emblem on the side made their allegiances obvious. I noted that their armored cupola were bare of both personnel and heavy weaponry. The lack of the crew served weapons was really indicative. They weren't expecting contact. Or maybe they were buttoned up to protect against something. 

As they drove off into the distance, I frowned. That was the second patrol I had seen so far today. What the hell had happened to my country? This felt like I was back in a different country that was under foreign occupation. Only this time I wasn't with the occupying force. Curious, I also again watched the faces of my fellow pedestrians as the patrol passed. They didn't look too happy. I shrugged, this wasn't going to go well. Now how to use it for my advantage?

Spying something out of the corner of my eye, I sauntered over to the business in question. 

"Electric Cafe" A neon sign depicting a laptop with lightning bolts on either side. A quick visual scan showed me that there were no cameras pointed at the entrance. Hopefully my hat and sunglasses would help conceal me if I was wrong.

I ducked into the store, ignoring the few marathon gamers still playing at this early hour. They certainly didn't notice me. I paid at the automated terminal with a prepaid debut card. I grabbed the receipt and went to the cubicle assigned to me. Pulling the chair back I was pleasantly surprised there were no obvious stains or mystery liquids coating the surface.Obscured by the privacy screen, I slipped on gloves and logged on. 

An ounce of paranoia is worth a decade in the corporate owned gulag. 

I quickly accessed a personal classified page, a place where people would post requests, things they were trying to sell and jobs. I navigated to the more salacious section, things focused more on "adult" requests. I typed a message and tied it to a burner email address. 

Next I visited an infamous image board and did the same before moving on to the next site. I had rented the computer for an hour and I intended to cast as wide a net as possible. 

I just hoped this particular red haired fish was as hopelessly perverted as I thought. Otherwise this was going to look pretty stupid.  

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

A couple hours later and I had pretty much given up looking for the Izumo inn for the day. The city was way too big to cover by foot and I had other things to do. I entered a subway terminal and pulled out my cellphone, cracking the case open and slipping the battery back in. 

I sat myself in a small underground café and signalled the waitress for service. A black coffee and open-faced sandwich later and I was dialing the number on the pamphlet the customs officer had given me. 

I waited for a dial tone, though when the phone picked up, it wasn't a employee but rather one of those horrible automated service lines. Eventually after navigating the aggravating button pushing hell that was modern "customer service", I ended up in the correct section. Job Outreach.

Which informed me that all interested applicants should apply in person. I searched the web for the address. Turns out was one of the lesser buildings that circled Teito Tower. Not too far away, good thing I was already at the train station. It wasn't too late in the day either, I should be able to make it. Downing my still boiling hot coffee in one big gulp, I stood and paid, then headed to the nearest ticket kiosk.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

The M.B.I. satellite office was literally in the shadow of its big brother. I craned my head back and whistled. 'Damn, someone's overcompensating.' I sniggered at my own joke, more than happy to take the piss out of that piece of shit otaku bastard. What that scientist chick saw in him, I had no idea. Having two children with him? 

Nevermind, she must be just as crazy. 

I approached the entrance and entered through the automatic sliding doors. Immediately I noted the plexiglass covered guard station to my right, a pair of armed security guards sitting in chairs inside. 

Other than the expected cameras, the two words I would use to describe the interior of the facility was "retina-blindingly white". So maybe that was three but it still fit. It didn't help that LCD screens of some kind lined the lobby that the short hallway terminated in. Inside were dozens of seats, though not many were occupied. I knew there were other recruitment centers around the city, maybe it was just this one that was slow. 

"M.B.I., building a better future for all mankind." The screens played a recruitment advertisement in sync, the screen a colorful assortment of diverse people, doing diverse things in the most mind numbingly corporate style, I had to look away before I started destroying things out of principle.Maybe the ads had driven people away. Or maybe most people were just smarter than I gave then credit for.

As I entered the room, a man dressed in what appeared to be a black and yellow jumpsuit waved for me to come over to the kiosk he was manning. His smile was fake as fuck, but at least he was trying. When I got a few feet from him, he must of realized how big and rough I looked, leaning away for a second. Feeling bad I did my best to give him my friendliest smile. Thankfully that seemed to do the trick and he visibly relaxed. 

"Welcome to M.B.I.'s Human Resource Division, Shinjoku. How can we help you?" 

"Nobe Sogen, I am here to look for employment." I bowed slightly and he relaxed even more at my good manners. 

"Ah of course. Here at M.B.I. we pride ourselves in fostering a fruitful and stimulating workplace experience. Please take one of these tablets," he handed me one of the tablets, sleek black and with an M.B.I. logo on the top, "and complete the brief biographical data, workplace history and personality assessment." 

"Is that an aptitude test? Or is it a behavioural assessment?" 

"Erm, here at M.B.I. we strive to match prospective applicants with their optimal working position."

Obviously he didn't know.

"Uh, ok. Thanks, where do I turn this in when I'm done? Not a free gift right?" I joked.

"You keep it with you until your interview. Please return it to one of the boxes around the room if you leave the building." For a second his eyes grew suspicious. "The tablet stops working if it's not connected to the building's wifi."

"Yeah sure, thanks." I moved to the front of the room and sat in one of the folding chairs. 

It was surprisingly uncomfortable. 

I turned on the tablet and was greeted with a chibi version of the King Sperg himself. 

"Welcome to M.B.I.! The company of the future! Let's get started."

I tapped and the speech bubble faded, only to be replaced by a welcome video of the actual man. It was.as ostentatious and pompous as you would expect it to be.

I ground my teeth. 

Almost an hour later and I was finished. With a yawn I pressed "Submit". It was later in the day and there were noticeably even less people in the lobby. I leaned back in my chair and spread my arms out on the backs of the ones next to me. I wasted time Observing the different objects and people scattered around the room. 

I had just got done learning the quality of the construction of the hinges on the door when the pad in my lap vibrated loudly. 

"Please proceed to door number three. Ganbare!" The chibified version of the worlds second richest man wished me luck. 

I followed the instructions, finding the door labeled three out of the twenty available. It slid open as I approached. 

I stepped inside and found myself in a small cubicle with a desk, two chairs, a computer and a few filing cabinets. There was two framed pictures on a shelf behind the desk, a pair of cute little pugs occupying one each. 

I held back a snort and instead chose to stand casually with a hand in my pocket. 

Behind the desk a middle-aged man typed something on his computer. He had short hair, that had started to go gray around the temples. His heavy black glasses turned towards me and looked me over head to toe. "I will be with you momentarily." 

"Sure, mind if I sit?" I know I looked slovenly for someone applying for a job, but damn I loved breezy Hawaiian style t-shirts. Nothing else fit like them. In fact most of the people in the lobby were wearing business casual or collared shirts. So I guess that made me the outlier. Whatever, I was weird anyways. The sound of typing ceased and the man swiveled in his seat to face me. 

"Yes. I am Shirai Yoshitada. Please make yourself comfortable, while I review your file." His voice was everything I expected it to be.

I sat in the much more comfortable chair than the one in the lobby and placed one leg up on the other.   

"Cute dogs, I had a Frenchie once. He was a big part of the family. What are your little guy's names?" I figured buttering him up couldn't hurt. No way was I feeling self conscious and double guessing myself about my choice of apparel! However, he didn't look up from his reading. 

'Oh man, I hope I didn't piss him off.' Some times maybe I put a little too much faith in my charisma. 

"I see it says that your last job was working with the Japanese Ground Self Defense Force. For seven years, can I ask why you did not renew your contract again?" He asked. 

I had expected this question. "I felt that I wasn't given enough opportunity for promotion."

"And you believe that M.B.I. could provide that for you?" He asked and I shrugged.

"It's still a relatively new company, there is bound to be churn as people find the right fit for themselves. I figure that it will be easier to advance in that sort of environment." 

"That's very, mercenary of you." The way he said it didn't give a hint of how he felt about that statement. I leaned forward and clasped my hands. 

"Capitalism is a mercenary system, I'm just looking for a good fit." I calmly stated and he stared at me for moment before nodding his head.

"Their names are Aike and Mr. Devito." I smiled, well I guess what I had said had pleased him to some extent, he was talking about his picture framed dogs.

"Mr. Devito? That's great! Ha! I can definitely see the resemblance!" I laughed, a genuine one. "Mine's name was Blackie." 

We shared a companionable look, before he continued. "It says here that you attended Daisen Technical High School for..."

30 minutes later and I was out the door, feeling a lot better than I had earlier. He had basically said I got the job, which was as a security contractor for the Security Service Division, just as long as my background and drug test came back clean. That was why they had taken my picture and finger prints.

Which would be fine, I knew. However the "drug test" confirmed in my opinion something that I had been thinking about for a long time. And why that vial of "Blood of the Gods" was still sitting untouched in my inventory until this day. 

Why had they drawn blood for the "drug test", when the old pee in a cup method was so much more efficient and cheap? A nurse even had to come in through the back door and administer the test. It was either M.B.I. flaunting its wealth, Minaka's paranoid delusions, or more likely, an excuse to screen for potential "Ashikabi".

It made sense. The "game" required releasing the sekirei into Shinto Teito in mass. There was no reason for them to risk an accidental winging, like had happened with that Ice sekirei, while the aliens were still in the company's custody.

'Damn, she was hot in the manga, wonder what she looks like in real life. Well actually, that goes for all of them. Even Kazehana. Too bad she's a drunk. And you know, could of possibly killed my Dad.' Suddenly I didn't feel so cavalier about the whole thing.

It was weird. I had "known" all the character's since I reincarnated, fantasized about meeting them, quite possibly building them them up to be something that they probably were not. Meanwhile for some of them, I hated and resented them for what they had done to me personally. But I was still excited to meet them? It was confusing. 

Anyways, he said I would be getting a call within a few days if I got the job, so I really had nothing to do until then. Though my plans would fall apart if I failed to get hired. Or it might fall apart anyways. I didn't know. No plan survives a good butt fucking from fate. 

'And with that happy thought, it's time to buy some stuff. Tomorrow I can throw some more chum. We'll see what happens.'  

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

A couple days after and I hadn't heard anything back from either my fishing emails or from M.B.I. and I was starting to get nervous. Not to mention, not a whiff of the inn. 

"Menu"

"Name: Nobe Sogen

Level: 27 (25/2700)

Title: Reincarnate

Race: Human

Age: 25

Karma: 145

HP:27,000

SP: 22,950

>STR: 20

>CON: 20

>STA: 17

>DEX: 20

>INT: 14

>WIS: 13

>PER: 16"

My progress had stalled in the past 7 years, actually only gaining two levels during that time. The reason for that was my reluctance to tackle any more dungeons and the crappy rewards for quests.

The dungeons had increased in difficulty quite sharply. With the last boss being an "Orc Berserker", who was a level 28, almost succeeded in killing me on more than one occasion. The thing was a beast, huge hit point pool, massive stamina reserves and what I assumed to be blunt and piercing resistances. I had only just managed to put the thing down by a hair and it had mainly been done by cheesing the system. Exploiting the hell out of my health potions and job abilities. Oh and also the fact that guns were extremely overpowered in this "game". Between all of that, victory had finally fallen within my grasp. To be brutally honest it was a sweaty and weak grasp by the end of the fight, but I had won none the less. So that was the reason I was worried about entering into the next stage, the name "Human Revolution" not giving any specific clues as to what I might find within.

Even worse, it was almost impossible to train my body any more and gain free STAT points. The difficulty had increased with each level in gaining the next point. The same with skills. Basically you could only "master" a skill through training it so much, so I could only gain so many skill points to unlock new job abilities. It was frustrating. Couple that with my general anxiety about things moving forward and I just felt all around pretty crappy. So I made a resolution.

Before I could slide any more into depression, I resolved myself to do SOMETHING to break up the monotony of my current bleak situation. Something fun! 

"Yeah, screw this." I announced to my empty room, getting up from my newly acquired couch and walking to my dresser. It was Friday night, I was rich, single and in the middle of a giant metropolis with nothing better to do. 

'I'm gonna get so wasted.' I picked through my collection of button up shirts, finding a dark blue one with tacky red dragons and flames festooned all over it.  

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

"Status: Minor Intoxication (360s)"

'Damn, six shots get's me drunk for six minutes? Maybe I will be going broke.' I lamented, downing another shot of five thousand yen tequila and watching as the status increased to 420 seconds. 'Smooth, maybe I can get some weed, get this party really started.' I enjoyed the thought of doing something that I hadn't done since a literal lifetime ago. I motioned to the bartender, who was warily eyeing me with growing concern, giving the universal bar gesture for "another". 

"Hey man, it's ok, I'm good for it." I reached into my back pocket and pulled out a money clip bulging with 10,000 yen notes. "See, it's all groovy, plenty of paper to go around!" 

I was being pretty obnoxious, but that was alright, after all the bartender didn't seem to mind too much, eyes widening at the display of my extremely large cash reserve. Smiling suddenly, he bowed slightly and respectfully placed the entire bottle in front of me. 

"Hey friend, can I also get a set of fried chicken and fresh fruit please?" I used my finger to point at the menu that was entombed under the laminate of the counter.

"Right away, sir." The waiter acknowledged, scurrying away to his register to enter my order. I poured myself another shot.

'Bottle service and fried chicken. What's not to love?' 

Well maybe the fact that I was trying to get WASTED, but all I had achieved so far is a minor buzz, like drinking a glass of wine on an empty stomach and low blood sugar. And maddeningly, that feeling had refused to increase, no matter how many shots I had poured down my throat hole. It kind of sucked and reminded me of how abnormal this experience actually was. Weird, I hadn't actually tried to drink to Intoxication before now. 

I downed another shot.

'Really this is just a waste at this point, I-'

"Status: Moderate Intoxication (60s)"

Suddenly the small sloppy feelings I had been experiencing blossomed into the sensation of full glorious drunkenness. 

"Oh yeah! That's the stuff!" I raised the bottle in a salute to the empty wall and took a hearty mouthful straight from the source. " Whoooo!" Exuberant at my rediscovered ability to get plastered, I failed to notice someone approaching me from behind. 

"Well aren't you a lively one?" A silky smooth female sounding voice emanated from directly to my rear. It was a nice sounding voice, I bet she had a great set of pipes. "Mind if I join you?"

I would later attribute it to the booze, but I was proud to say I hardly flinched when she snuck up on me and first announced her presence. Not bothering to look in the mystery woman's direction out of sudden embarrassment, I tried to cover that fact up by waving perhaps a bit too enthusiastically to the empty stool next to me.

"Of course, of course." I had chosen a pretty high-end bar in downtown Shinto Teito to blitz myself in. Luckily, I had at least dressed in a collared shirt, otherwise I might not of been let inside. 

Not that the bouncer would of tried to stop me if he had sense.

Knowing where I was and the types of native fauna usually found in such environments, I could already imagine what this mystery woman would look like. Young, fake nails, wearing slightly older designer clothes, lots of makeup caked on, skinny. Basically a middle management positioned salary man's wet dream. 

I heard the stool next to me shift as my newfound and maybe unwanted drinking buddy swiveled it to gain access and then swiveled back. An errant knee brushed my own on its way back towards the bar.

"Oh. Clumsy me!" Her lame excuse was unpredictable as it was unbelievable. 

'Haha, playing not-so-hard-to-get, heh? Well I'm not so easy!' I decided to see how long I could go without looking at her. If she had any self respect, she would sod off, which sadly would actually chase away any woman worth talking to.

"What are you drinking girly?" I asked coyly, pouring myself a drink and slamming it back to keep my drunkenness going. I heard a feminine giggle and something soft leaned into my side.

"Well usually I just drink sake, but for you I'm willing to experiment." A soft hand rested on my forearm and gripped it lightly, slowly rubbing up and down.

'Holy shit we have a live one here. Can you be any more obvious?' Even in my buzzed state, that was kind of on the nose. I had bedded quite a few women, both in this life and the last, but that was just trashy in its bluntness.

"Bartender, another bottle please!" I signaled with a raised finger. He nodded and reached under the counter. Soon enough he had another bottle open and an extra shot glass placed out. Unlike before when he offered salt and limes, I didn't decline. Some people wanted that.

Curiously I noticed him look wide eyed at the still unseen person seated next to me when she thanked him for his service. 'Must not be a regular bar fly then.' I poured her a double out of the clean bottle and poured myself one from the bottle that I had just slathered my lips all over. The hand that had been gripping my forearm retreated and grabbed the shot glass.

"Such a gentleman. And here I thought you were just brooding alone over here to pull off the tall, dark and handsome thing." I saw she had held up her shot glass. "A toast perhaps, to good fortune, in love and war, in death and life!"

It was a weird toast, but a pretty damn interesting one. I clinked my glass against hers and dumped the booze down the hatch. I turned, finally, my curiosity in the end strong enough to overrule my petty pride.

It turned out to be bad timing as I immediately choked on my drink, the burning liquid sucked down the wrong pipe as my startled body tried to take in as much oxygen as physically possible, all at once. 

The reason for my sudden surprise?

This woman was beautiful.

No, that didn't do it justice. Ravishing? Stunning, magnificent? Maybe in truth the words hadn't even been invented yet to actually describe something so otherworldly in its radiance!

Smoking red hot.

Drop dead out-of-this-fucking-world gorgeous.

Spit-in-your-face-pretty.

I'm sure that at that moment my mouth was hanging open like a moron, but I just couldn't move. It was like going into a fight, a real fight, where your life was on the line. That moment where you either choose to fight back or to run away. That infinite moment that balanced on a knife's edge. And my brain did not know what to do!

Her face was perfect. Absolutely symmetrical. Perfectly proportional, as if she had been sculpted rather than born. A delicately pointed nose, small petite mouth that would look equally alluring smiling or pouting. Her eyes were oval shaped deeply running pools of ebony and her thin eyebrows framed her face in the most perfect of feminine manners.

I thought back to all the professional models I had seen on billboards and magazines over the years, but this woman beat them all, air brushing and Photoshop included, hands down. Easily.

She was definitely Japanese, or East Asian at least. Her straight, long, black hair was so dark it was almost purplish. She had fixed up her hair in a simple pony tail, though somehow the utilitarian choice only served to made her look even more elegant!

My eyes drifted downwards, as if they had a mind of their own.

She had a fully mature woman's body, that was painfully obvious, even through the jeans and sweater she wearing, I could tell she was shaped like the most gifted of gravure models only wished they could be. 

And her tits. Good god!

'They're literally bigger than her head!' My eyes beheld the obscenely large mounds. I wondered what they would feel like in my hands? I bet it would be insane if she wrapped th-

"Down boy!" She slapped me on the shoulder, noticing my open and obvious oogling. Still though, I must of been more drunk than I thought, as I was nearly sent off my seat. That or my spine had still not recovered from turning to mush. She crossed her legs, one over the other and grinned. "There you are. I thought there was something wrong when you refused to look at me. Maybe I had lost my touch?" 

"I-I-," I knew my face was red and it must of gotten even worse when I felt a stocking clad foot rub itself in little circles along my outer calf. I cleared my throat and attempted to find my voice. "I thought you were just a woman." 

Wow, that sounded stupid. But I guess she found it funny, or at least she was a competent actor, because she merely laughed, "What, do I not look like a woman to you?" She questioned as she reached over and poured herself another hefty drink. By this point I had dropped back down to "Minor Intoxication". 

A sobering event indeed. 

"No, it was your intentions more than anything else that I questioned. I, uh, don't think anyone would- could mistake you for a man." I rubbed the back of my head sheepishly. 

"Mhmm, that's good. I would hate to be accused of taking advantage of a blind man." She seemed satisfied, though I was glad it had been teasing after all. Or at least hoped it was. I didn't want to offend this woman. To do so seemed almost like, like, sacrilege! 

"Somehow, I don't think he'd mind, as long as you gave him a hug before you left." I regained some of my old confidence, probably the alcohol wearing off and being able to think a little straighter again. 

She tittered behind her hand and I was fascinated with the way her long eyelashes fluttered, didn't help that her laughter sounded like the tinkling of little silver bells. Even that was beautiful!

Though a suspicious part of me was suddenly not enjoying this so much, some sixth sense in the back of my head that warned me that this woman was bad news. 

"Oh, you're bad!" she lightly punched me in the arm the held out her glass for me to refill. She reclined on her stool and looked me up and down. "Heavily muscled too. You're a big boy, about 190, I'd say. How much do you weigh?"

"Careful Miss, turnabout is fair play!" I jibed, slowly gaining more and more confidence, the initial shock of her appearance wearing off as we conversed like normal humans. 

Setting any suspicion aside, this was, fun. Flirting that is. The day's problems and my insecurities no longer seemed so serious. It was just what I needed. 

Nodding her head she downed her shot and leaned on the counter, her head held in her hand. 

"I doubt those would be the numbers you're interested in." she gestured three times, to her bust, her waist and her hips. "Am I right?" Another glass held up, another pour. Another shot down. I didn't bother with the glass this time, instead drinking directly from the bottle. Her eyebrows raised in admiration as I downed the rest of the remaining bottle in one go. 

At least I hoped that's what that look meant, I was back up to my buzzed state again after all. "To answer your question, 94kg." I grinned and she looked at me appreciatively. 

"Hmm, you ARE a big boy." She slowly picked up the bottle that was still half full. She winked, held the neck gently and brought it up to her mouth. Her beautiful eyes, like two chips of obsidian, met my own and she pursed her lips and wrapped them around the bottle's head. 

I would not be ashamed to admit that my pants were suddenly much more snug at that moment. 

Slowly, she lifted the tequila bottle into the air and continued to tip it up. Then she proceeded to sip, not gulp the entire half a bottle. I watched fascinated as her eyes closed and her throat muscles bobbed slowly up and down with each measure of booze that traveled down her esophagus. 

It was erotic as fuck.

I looked over and saw the bartender was back, holding the platter that I had ordered. We shared a look of pure incredulity between the two of us for a moment before I turned back. 

'Oh shit, she isn't stopping.' I was suddenly worried. "Hey, slow down, that's strong stuff you know." I half joked. "Hey that's enough seriously, you're gonna be sick!"

Seeing she still hadn't stopped I made to reach for the bottle. However I was stopped when her hand whipped up with incredible speed. 

I actually jumped. She held up a finger, telling me to wait and smiled around the glass. I crossed my arms. 

"Whatever, it's your funeral." I mumbled. 

After a few more seconds, the empty bottle was pulled from those incredibly full lips with an audible "POP!". 

"WoooOooH Yeah! That's the stuff!" she excitedly exclaimed, stretching her arms above her head. "You know, I didn't know if I'd like it, but that tequila stuff isn't half bad!" She fanned herself with a dainty hand. "A bit stronger than sake though."

"Uhhh, yeah." I noticed her face was flushed. It was cute, I decided. Too bad she'd be vomiting her brains out in a few minutes. Oh well, just have to dodge when the time came. The waiter took this moment to deliver my food. Befitting a higher end bar in what used to be Tokyo, it smelled delicious. My mouth watered at the sight of the fried chicken and fresh fruit.     

I picked one up and bit into it. It made an audible crunching sound. 

'Damn that's good.' 

I reached for napkin and glanced at my new "friend". I couldn't stop the great belly laugh from coming out from seeing what I saw. 

She was practically transfixed, staring at the plate of food like a dog begging under the table. My mysterious lady looked absolutely famished. 

'Geeze, what did she skip dinner or something?' I set the half eaten chicken leg down on a spare plate and addressed her, "You can have some if you want, it's meant to share." I gestured at the large platter, "I mean I could eat all of it, but I don't mind."

At my offer, she turned even redder and held her hand straight up and down in front of her mouth. 

"Oh, no! I'm fine really! That is, I couldn't possibly-" She must be drunk, because that was about a 180 degree flip from her previous attitude. 

I picked up a piece of chicken and waved it in front of her face. Then held it out.

"I'm serious. If it wasn't fine I wouldn't offer it. Eat some." For the first time she looked at me, really looked at me. 

The smile that set my heart aflutter. Even better it reached her eyes. 

"Ok, I will graciously take you up on your kind offer." She gracefully replied, but what followed next was anything but! In fact, it was incredible to witness, if only because of the utter savagery on display. .

Drumstick after drumstick disappeared down into her gullet, almost as fast as the fruit that followed  In fact I was only able to grab one more piece of chicken and some water melon before there was a pile of split bones and empty rinds sitting where a fully loaded platter of food used to be.     

In the resulting minutes, I had sobered up again and regained a portion of my god damn common sense. Unbelievably she still hadn't thrown up or gotten sick yet, nor had she appeared to really have gotten any drunker. Which was impossible. I didn't care how heavy of a drinker she professed to be, a 70kg person doesn't drink more than half a bottle of strong tequila in a matter of minutes and stay off their ass.

Well except for me. 

Also, I had literally just watched her bite through multiple whole chicken bones with her teeth like it was nothing. That was not something you'd see a normal person do. 

Bonus weirdness, her hand had moved insanely fast when I tried to stop her from drinking too much. Fast enough that even my highly tuned reflexes had a hard time following her sudden movement.      

'Alright, there's no way this chick is a human. Which around here means..."  

Sekirei. She had to be. Now why was there a sekirei out loose in the city right now? I had no idea. But that had to be it.

I looked at the beautiful woman...no, creature in front of me and my heart began to beat faster. I felt the hairs on the back of my neck stand out straight and my palms started to itch.

25 years. 25 years and this is...

'Can I do it? Can I win?'

Before I knew it was mentally activating my active repertoire of combat abilities.

'Entrenchment, Flurry, Battle Rhythm, Dash, Counter Strike, Dead Eye, One Inch Death Punch, Trauma Kit, Death From Above..." 

I could feel my muscles stretch and expand with strange energy as my skills turned on. My senses sharpened as the speed of the blood pumping through my veins increased. I could clearly see the gentle rise and fall of my enemy's chest. The way her hair swayed side to side. The faint smell of sage. 

"BELCH!" the sekirei let out an earsplitting burp that had the entire bar looking at us. Looking around, she laughed nervously."Uh, excuse me?" 

I blinked. The tension bled out of my body as quickly as it has come.

'What the hell was I going to do? I don't even know who she is!'

"Ehehe, thanks for the food! I guess I was hungrier than I thought." her sheepish admission got nothing more than a grunt out of me. She startled back, looking concerned at my abrupt change of mood. Concerned and perhaps a little nervous. 

"Heh, look, I'm sorry if I embarrassed you. If you want me to leave I'll go." she placed a hand on mine. "I meant it. Thank you for the drinks and food. Maybe see you again sometime, Big Guy." 

She rotated the stool and started to stand up. This time it was my turn to grab her by the hand. 

"Wait, you don't have to go. It wasn't anything you did. It's something else. Truth be told, it's the reason why I was here drinking today."

Assured that my sudden change in attitude wasn't due to her continuing presence, she sat back down eagerly, crossing her legs and intertwining her fingers on her lap. 

"And what has got a big handsome, rich guy like you so worried? Women trouble?"

I snorted. "No, it's...complicated." I wasn't an Ashikabi, so there was no way to ensure this girls loyalty. Still though, maybe it would actually feel good to talk to someone. I had felt pretty isolated since I came to this city. But still, this could be a future enemy. In a conflict, every little detail could prove to be the difference between victory and defeat. She must of sensed my reluctance to disclose because she leaned forward and captured one of my hand in both of hers. 

Even though my tanned hand dwarfed her small petite one, now that I looked for it, I could feel the immense strength just below the surface.  

"Ara, ara, Big Man, not to worry, you can tell Kazehana onee-san all about it." 

Next thing I knew, my hand was being pressed against something large warm and oh so soft. 

"Ah!" a sound escaped me as my hand sunk into one of her massive breasts. Her eyes sparkled and she smiled again. 

I could feel her heartbeat. It was strong and steady under my palm.

'Wait.'

For the second time I faced a great shock and I couldn't stop myself from pulling back my hand as if burned. Frowning at my sudden negative reaction, she cocked her head and stared at me with a disappointed look on her face. 

"Nothing? Oh well, worth a shot." She said regretfully, helping herself to another swig out of my bottle, though I was barely paying attention anymore. 

'Wait, wait, wait! Fucking Kazehana? Drunken Minaka fangirl Kazehana?' My eyes flew all over, crazily adjusting to this new information. 'Fucking single number Kazehana?'

I cast Observe, no longer caring how weird it would look for me to do so. 

"Name: Kazehana - Sekirei 03

Level: 67

Title: The Sekirei of the Wind

Race: Ssatho'Alopewii (Sekirei) - Unwinged

Age: 28

Karma: 67

Affiliation: Izumo Inn

Emotional State: Concerned by your actions, disappointed that you were not her Ashikabi.

Threat Level: Very High

HP: 603,670

SP: 578,880

>STR: 68 

>CON: 53 

>STA: 48

>DEX: 52

>INT: 27

>WIS: 35

>PER: 56"  

My arms began to slightly shake.

'Th-th-this monster is a sekirei?' I looked at Kazehana, who was currently watching me with a concerned look on her face, probably wondering what the hell had come over me. My eyes continued to dart around. 

'Are they all like this? Or is it because she is one of the first?' I gulped and gave a plasticky smile. 'If I had attacked her, I would of died.' It was not a question. I would of been killed. 

Another poisonous idea crept into my mind like a poisonous snake.

'Did she kill my father?'

I felt sick. 

"I have to go, I'm sorry." I blurted out, practically springing to my feet. I turned to leave but her hand caught mine again, her grip tight. 

"Hey, what's wrong? Is it something I said?" she looked genuinely worried that she had offended me. Any other time it would of been endearing. Now though?

I yanked my hand away, breaking free of her grip. Without another thought I ran out of the bar, uncaring of the startled patron's reactions. Clearing the door, I burst onto the street and took off full speed, moving fast enough to outrun the slow moving automobile traffic and mopeds cruising through the streets. People looked up at my passing, but by the time they figured out someone was there I was gone. I cut through alley's, hurdled barricades, bounded over fences and leaped over entire cars. 

I ran and ran, not stopping until I was miles away. Finally feeling like I had run far enough, I quickly ducked off into a trash filled alley. Breathing heavily out of panic, I leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to my haunches.

'How the hell am I supposed to fight against something like THAT?' Had I not been working hard enough? I had never liked the character of Kazehana in the manga, she was supposed to be a drunken floozy who fell for some pathetic loser after being rejected by his own father, but she wasn't anything like that! In fact I enjoyed her company!

But I thought I wanted her dead! Did I still? All my conviction gone over a nice conversation and a fabulous pair of tits? Was I that pathetic?

I clutched my head in my hands, overwhelmed by these sudden developments. I threw out a fist, smashing the wall behind me and making a small crater where I struck.

'What the hell am I supposed to feel?!'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Kazehana stared in confusion at the empty space that the mysterious man that she had so recently been sharing a good time, or at least she thought it was a good time, had just vacated the premises like he feared for his life.

She had wanted to talk to him some more. He had interested her with his kind yet strange actions. Instead she had watched dumbfounded as he ran full speed through the restaurant and burst out the door, dashing down down the street and out of her sight. No man had ever ran out on her before. It was a new experience. 

She stared at her hand, still held in the same position it had been in after he had so abruptly shook off her grip. 

Something he should not of been able to do. 

She knew her own strength, and while not as strong as a fist or weapon type, it shouldn't of mattered. It was just a fact that humans did not even come close in that department. In fact so much so that it was always a pain in the butt to be conscious of her own strength, so as to not hurt those squishy people around her.

'Too bad I didn't react. An Ashikabi like that could of certainly kept things interesting.' She wistfully stated, steadfastly ignoring the sudden pain in her heart that blossomed alongside thinking on the topic of destined ones. 

'No matter who it ends up being, they won't be him.' Part of her hated herself for having such thoughts. It wouldn't be fair to her future Destined One if her heart was still split. 'Oh Minaka, why? Why must you reject me! Why, why, why! Am I not beautiful?'

Oh how this love was a curse in the hearts of her wretched kind!

"Love needs no reason or rhyme, it simply does as it wills." she mused out loud, tracing a line through the condensation that had built up on the bar around the chilled fruit plate, suddenly feeling depressed. Her choice had rejected her, it was only by a miracle that she had not physically reacted to the Professor. 

'He was handsome though. And big.' she tried to distract herself by thinking about the odd encounter she had just had. 'Well this day's going to be memorable at least. It's a shame he got away. He was pretty fun to talk to." She remarked, for the first time noticing something sitting on the bar top. 'And he was loaded.' She grabbed the money clip off of the counter, quickly and expertly thumbing through the thick stack of bills. 

Since she had fled from Kamikura with her broken heart, she had been surviving off of "charity" and luck. Though that got remarkably easier once she she discovered that there wasn't much a man wouldn't do for your benefit if you looked the way she did. To be honest, that had been her intention when she had first approached him. He had been sitting alone, obviously drunk and seemed pretty stupid. Which usually were the signs of an easy mark. 

But surprising even herself, at some point she had actually started having a good time. Willingly sharing food with her was definitely a part of that. But even more so, there was just something about him that had interested her. Almost like he was not quite...right? She had a hard time pinpointing the correct feelings. Most humans, they felt just normal, like they faded into the background. They weren't a threat, and she didn't mean to ignore them, but it just happened. This guy hadn't felt that way. Though it also wasn't what she understood an Ashikabi would of felt like to her either. It was something else. Something new.

And it had been all going so well until the sudden end. Now that she thought about it, as soon as he had heard her name he had been on edge. Though that was ridiculous because they had never met before. It really was a mystery, just like his abnormal strength and the identity of whatever the problem was that he had apparently been so desperate to stop her from asking about.

Shaking her head, she dismissed the whole line of wasteful questioning. It's not like she'd be likely ever see him again anyways. So it was best to just give thanks for her sudden fortune in passing and move on. On that note, she tightly clasped the bundle of cash to her chest and smiled with giddy excitement.

This amount alone would pay rent and booze for at least a couple of months! Miya might actually stop nagging her for once about pulling her own weight! 

'Thank you Big Guy! I hope you find whatever it is you need. Even if you don't know you need it.' She closed her eyes for a moment, giving silent thanks, before turning to the bartender.

"Another bottle please!"

Chapter Text

Let's Play: Sekirei

Chapter III

After my close encounter of the third kind with Kazehana, my mood darkened even further. As I brooded over the sudden realization of just how tall the mountain in front of me truly was, I just couldn't get it out of my head. The sheer gap between us. No matter how I looked at it, I was still at a loss on how to win when the odds were already so stacked against me!

'And she isn't even the strongest!'  To think that I had been thinking I had stood a goddamn chance!'Why bother giving me a quest like "Win", make me wait 25 years and then make it impossible to freakin' do so?' I guess someone up there just wanted a good laugh. "Well fuck you." I rolled over and hid my head beneath my pillow.

Yeah that's right, instead of doing anything productive, I was just laying in bed. But at least my mind wasn't idle. In fact, I kept myself busy, running scenarios in my head over and over. No matter what chain of events I came up with though, I couldn't see any way out.  

"God damn she was a piece of art though." I longingly pined, acutely aware that I had also wasted my chance at easily finding the Izumo Inn. She had been staying there after all. 

But that would of been dangerous. Almost too much so. I now doubted my ability to deal with ANY Sekirei, let alone the monster that No. 1 would undoubtedly be. 

"I could see how they were mistaken as gods." Curious though, I remembered the stats that I had pulled up when I had Observed Kazehana "I wonder what that weird word in the racial category meant?" I suspected it was the actual species name, not M.B.I.'s corporate designation. 

Not that it mattered much. 

I wondered if I should of used the "Blood of the Gods" item. Would I of been able to wing Kazehana? Would I want to? I said before no, but that was before I actually met the woman.

My feelings were still a mess. I had honestly remembered not liking the character when I read the manga, thinking her annoying for her drunkenness and the weird situation of settling for Minato instead of his father. Like it was such a quick turn around. Actually all of of the main girls were, well besides Homura I guess. But that was just fucking weird in general.

The woman that I had just met in real life however, was more than the preconception I had of her. Funny, sexy, manipulative and sweet, kind. She had shown more depth than I had ever imagined possible.
'Well duh moron, these are real people, not drawings on a page.' 

As for the ever present cloud of the disciplinary squad's past actions, that was another minefield. One that I wasn't too excited to venture into right now. In the end I knew Minaka and the government were ultimately responsible for beginning the conflict. I would have to figure out anything after that as it went. Time had dulled the pain and guilt that I experience everytime I thought of my Dad, but it was still there.

In the end, I figured the only way to proceed was to continue to hope that my original "plan" would work out. With some modifications.

I couldn't do this on my own. My original plan has been to join M.B.I, abuse Matsu's powers to bypass security and get close to Minaka. What would I do after that? i wasn't sure, but I'd probably pull the bastards spine out through his ass. Even if I failed in finding Matsu, I had been confident enough in my skill set to believe that I could of gotten that done.

But now, while my insane inhuman strength was certainly enough to do what I had envisaged before, compared to the doubly insane strength of a Sekirei that I had just revealed, chances are I would be killed before ever even getting close enough to glare at the bastard. However...

Maybe with strong allies I'd be able pull off a win. The problem was, I didn't know where to find any. 

"Wait!" I said out loud like a crazy person, addressing the empty room as I sat up in my bed. I did know two people that should be active in the city around this time, or at least I hoped they were. If I could recruit them...

Sekirei vs sekirei. I guess that was still the rule of the jungle around here. It was that or figure out a way to get a lot stronger in a short amount of time. I was still hesitant to go dungeon crawling again, so this would have to do. 

So with a new goal set in mind, I began to scheme.
 'Hmm, I wonder if cutting off Minaka's head would count as a win?'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

A few days later and I was eating breakfast when I got a text message on my phone from M.B.I, informing me of their acceptance of my application for a position in the Security Service. And yes, of course it was the same Chibi Minaka in .mp4 form who announced it.  

"Security Consultant, Grade 10"  I clicked the e-signature button and sent the signed offer letter back. The job basically said I would be responsible for providing "Services pertaining to the protection and recovery of M.B.I. assets. And other duties as required." 

Starting pay was shit, but livable. It was an entry level position after all. 

A couple hours later and I received a sign in and link to the M.B.I. employee portal. I filled out a ton of forms and was informed I had to show up to somewhere called "Development Center 5" and attend a three week long training course. A suggested packing list was enclosed. I looked up the facility, but I couldn't really find anything substantial o by location or even mention. The instructions stated to meet at the satellite building that I had originally applied in three days from now. Transportation would be provided to and from the training facility. New employees were warned to expect to be unable to leave the facility for the duration of the three week period. Due to what they called security concerns.

"More like they don't want any leaks." I muttered. Not that it mattered. I was in this for a pound. Forget the penny. 

A weight lifted off my shoulders. Things were moving forward. I didn't have time to worry over things. First, just get through this. I would post some more Matsu bait before I left, hopefully I would be able to use my cell phone to check my email at least.
Resolved, I began to pack.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)  

An assorted group of about 80 people holding duffel bags milled around outside front of the M.B.I. recruitment office. It was still early morning and I suspected some of them were still half asleep. By my  guess, most of the assembled prospective employees were ex-military, How could I tell? By the way they grouped together, smoking and trading war stories.Only former grunts knew how to handle loitering on standby so effectively. 

I on the other hand, leaned against the building and kept away from any of the other groups. After all I wasn't here to make friends. Hell, I might end up fighting against them if it came down to that. No need to build any camaraderie when this might all end up with a knife planted in their backs. 

Soon the bus showed up and we all boarded, the drivers scanning our biometrics to confirm our identities as we entered. When the last one of us files in the bus' door closed and away we went. 

The ride lasted a little over two hours.. We had left Shinto Teito by way of one one of the major arterials and didn't stop until we were far out into the countryside. When we arrived at the Development Center, it was apparent why it had to be located so far away from 5he metro area. Rifle ranges, obstacle courses, running tracks and what looked like barracks. As well as a bunch of other outbuildings.
We disembarked and formed even lines.
A large man dressed in a black turtle neck sweater with grey shoulder pads walked away from a group of other similarly dressed employees. He was wearing a patrol cap with the M.B.I Security Service logo on it. 

"Hello, I am senior training staff member Kukumoto. When I call your name, take your things and enter through that door behind us." he looked at his clipboard and began reading down the list 
 

'Three weeks of M.B.I. mandated basic bitch training. Really how bad could it be?'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Turns out it wasn't that bad. 

Three weeks had passed and I was back on the bus returning to Shinto Teito. The training had been basically what I expected. Physical exams, physical fitness tests, weapons qualifications, a law enforcement primer, small team tactics and first aid. There was also a whole module dedicated to data safety and M.B.I. security protocols. 
'

Gee I wonder why that is...' 

Tons of non-disclosure agreements and waivers of responsibility for M.B.I. were also signed and initialed. Basically if you ever tried to leak any information, M.B.I. could throw you into "Unlimited Detention, indefinitely. Try to sue them and they'd force you into arbitration. 

Lovely standard mega-corporation stuff. 

The one section of training that did raise my eyebrow was a module titled "Enhanced Sensitive Threat Containment". It mainly revolved around setting up a cordon and removing possible data leak sources (phones, cameras, tracing informant activity) all the while coordinating information response from within HQ. The one thing in it that was actually interesting was a short video that had a slide that showed an outline of what I could only assume was a Sekirei's internal organs. 

It wasn't labelled as such, but it was obvious with my meta knowledge what it was supposed to be.
What was interesting about that? While their organs were essentially the same as a human's, heart, lungs, stomach, liver, it was the ball of white material tucked up inside their rib cage that was of real concern. In the slide show, a big red arrow pointed to the area in question, saying, "To disable, target front of sternum." 

The other trainees must of been confused by that, but I knew what it was. 

That was were their cores were located. That extra special organ that gave their species essentially what was limited immortality and the ability to recover from almost any horrendous injury. As far as I remembered, from one older sekirei saving Musubi, it was basically a life raft, or seed. It contained the basic blueprint of their personality and memories and was the mechanism by which whatever the hell kind of freaky energy powered their supernatural ability was generated and stored.

'So is that their mind, soul, whatever then?' I didn't know the answer to that. It would make sense though seeing that if that was destroyed you would terminate the unit. Permanently.

I think. It was a lot of guesswork after all. As I stepped off the bus back in front of the Shinto Teito recruitment center, I looked at my supposed unbreakable fingers. "I wonder..."

"Alright, form up and listen up!" A woman wearing the same black and grey sweater combination that our trainers had been dressed in, called for everyone to assemble once they got off the bus. Once all the employees had lined up she started her address.  
"Congratulations on completing the M.B.I. Security Service training course. Check your company email tonight for where to report on Monday. That's all and have a great weekend!" She bowed and the formation returned it.

After the speech everyone all went their own separate ways, some in groups, others like me, alone.
I pulled out my phone and dialed my mom. It had been a little while since I had spoken to her, so I made sure to tell her I was fine and was back in Tokyo. Starting the job on Monday. Last thing, I promised her that I'd text my sister later. 
Hanging up, I flagged down a taxi. I was feeling too lazy to ride the train. 

'I wonder if I should go out drinking again?' Thoughts of my embarrassing retreat from the bar soured that notion immediately. 'I wonder what Kazehana is up too?'  I suddenly turned my head and looked at the huge looming silhouette of Teito tower and the surrounding building's roofs. Of course they were empty, running into someone in a city of tens of millions was almost impossible. Meeting her at the bar had been, what? Fate?

'Oh shit, I feel a headache coming on.'

There was no point in thinking too much about it. It had happened. It didn't mean anything. 
If we never met again, she would become Minato's sekirei. That was how things were supposed to go.

So why did that kinda piss me off?

I remembered the fear that I had felt when I realized how outclassed I was. The lust I had for her even before I had known what she was. The happiness I had when I saw her break through her mask and smile a real smile for the first time. 

I could almost forget that I had left over a million yen sitting on the bar counter. 

'Ugh, I'm crushing hard aren't I?' I had been around the block a few times, enough to recognize this situation. Three weeks with constantly occupied thoughts had allowed a lot of feelings to be bottled up. I had undoubtedly constructed a idealized image of the person. That kind of thing was dangerous.  I sagged in the back seat, ignoring the cigarette burns and stains in the upholstery.

'I'm so pathetic.' I spent the rest of the ride staring out the window. 

Arriving at my apartment, I tipped the driver and lugged my things up to my floor. 

I opened the door and stepped inside. 

"Honey, I'm home!"

The empty room greeted me back. .

Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

I ended up not going out drinking that weekend. Actually, other than to get fresh groceries, I didn't really go out at all. Instead I tried to relax, watching crappy movies, trolling around online and texting with Emiru. It was easier to feel less pathetic about myself when I tried actively to avoid thinking about the "big things" in life. Kazehana was a nightly in intangible visitor to my dreams of course, but that wasn't any different than it had been the last couple of weeks I just had to accept that she would remain as she currently was, an awkward memory paired with a fantasy. And that was enough. 

When Monday rolled around, I was feeling slightly better. Which was good, because I had to start working today. 

The email that we all had received with our new workplaces gave an address in Ikebukuro, Toshima City, which was one of the northern-most districts of Shinto Teito. Lucky score for me because I could search for Izumo while working. Seriously, how hard should it be?

It was 0630 in the morning and picked at my breakfast of dried seaweed and luncheon meat. It was sad yes, but I didn't really feel like cooking anything else. The TV was on in the background, a local news report about some sort of serial killer that had been targeting martial artists of all things. I half listened as I slowly picked through the mess on my plate.  

"He's welcome to fucking try." I growled darkly, putting the finishing touches on my black uniform.

A cup of coffee later and I was on my way. My report time was 8, but I left early because it was the first day. The commute didn't turn out to be too bad, about 30 minutes,  but I wondered if it would make my life easier to live closer. 

When I stepped off the subway and started following the GPS directions to my new workplace, I was disappointed to find that it kind of looked like a dump. The area itself was full of older buildings and closed shops, but that didn't explain the condition of the office.
It had obviously been a police station in the recent past. Simple brick and mortar construction with a small barb wire lined parking lot on the side. A temporary banner over what was probably the old department name that read "Security Service". Disturbingly, all the windows in the front were boarded up and as I approached the sound of glass crunching under my boots was hard to mistake for anything than what it was 

I entered the building, being buzzed in after showing my new badge.  Inside wasn't much better than the outside. There was however a distinct lack of furnishings. I walked to what would of been a duty desk if this still was a police station.

Behind it was a brown haired man in a uniform with his boots up on an extra chair. He had a single stripe on his shoulder, which mean he was a low level supervisor. 

"Hey, I'm Nobe Sogen, Security Consultant,  I will be in your care from now on." 

"In my care he says?" The man sneered at me. "Boss' office is down that way, report there not here."

"Ok thanks." I replied, but the rude man didn't bother to acknowledge my gratitude.

I walked down the indicated hallway, stopping when I reached a door that had been recently stenciled with red paint that read "Site Manager". I knocked. Though it took a few minutes, eventually an older man with a white goatee and graying hair opened the door. He had four stripes on his uniforms, marking him as a higher grade and probably the one in charge of managing this station. 

"Oh, hello there. You must be our new hire. Come in, come in make yourself comfortable." He walked back into his office and I followed. Seating himself behind his desk, I took the opposite seat and settled in. He picked up a stack of papers and made a show of shuffling through them. 

"I read your file. JGSDG for 7 years, Infantry, served the entire time in the 1st Airborne Brigade. Got your Ranger badge. Left the service as a Sergeant, clean record, exemplary physical fitness score." He set the papers to the side and folded his arms over his chest.

"But all of that, wasn't important." he states, "When I saw your name, there was only one thought on mind." He stares at me with stern eyes, "Are you THE Nobe Sogen?" 

"'The' meaning what exactly Mr....?" I think I knew what he was getting after, but for pete's sake the man hadn't even introduced himself yet!

"Kitta Issa." he replied flippantly, "I meant are you the Nobe Sogen who won the Ultimate Fight light heavyweight championship at 17? The youngest ever? Who then disappeared off the map leaving just a perfect record?"

"Yeah, that was me." I shrugged and he broke out into an excited grin. 

"Holy hell man, that's just wild! Just wild. Can I get your autograph?" He held out a copy of "Fighter's Weekly" and a suspiciously available sharpie. Obliging him I signed it with a scribble. After I returned the pen he asked me, "So I've always wondered, you know people called you the 'Vanished Prince' right? So I've always asked myself, why did you quit?" He looked at me expectantly and I wondered if whatever answer I gave would be posted on some combat sports fanatic page in a few hours. 

"I guess I wanted to move on. It just wasn't fun anymore." I answered semi-truthfully, the real answer of course is that I had wanted to fill out another Job tree before zero hour.

"Oh, I see." He replied, though it really sounded like he didn't. 

Following that, the talk became a little more focused on the job and what my duties as a Security Consultant would entail. 

Basically we would be acting as the police. We would patrol the city, serve warrants, respond to 9/11 calls. 

"It's all computerized, really quite remarkable. Much more efficient than the old model of law enforcement." He finished, obviously somewhat proud of his new position.

I didn't bother to ask any of the moral questions one could have about a private organization enforcing laws created by a supposed democratic process. Who did the Security Service answer to at the end of the day? Well like all people, to the ones who paid their salaries. And when the one who paid their salaries was a certifiably insane cretin like Minaka, things were destined to go tits up.

My new supervisor stood and walked around the desk. He approached and slapped me on the back with a friendly pat.

"Come on, I'll give you the tour. Most of the, er, platoon is out on patrols right now. Dayshift just got in at 8, so they won't be back for a while."
(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)
Turns out most of the people working here were formerly cops. In fact they were the cops that had worked in this very station. When M.B.I. had aquired control of the public services of then Tokyo, they had made offers of employment to all current Police Officers. Those that had accepted retained their old positions but at substantially higher pay. Kitta-san had been the Captain in charge of this precinct. He still was, he just had a different boss. 

There were still detectives and traffic cops and forensic specialists and all of that. Really the only thing that had changed was the addition of "Security Consultants" like myself. Our job was basically to provide what regular beat cops used to do. We could arrest people, but we would transfer them over to the company cops as soon as they arrived. Mainly it looked like we just drove around in Humvees and "kept the peace". Criminals were held in company owned holding cells until they could be sent to a larger jail on the outskirts and then finally they would be extradited out of Shinto Teito.  

When we stopped next to the armory, I asked him about the broken windows at the front of the building were about. He had turned away and coughed into his hand, muttering something about "civil disturbances". 

I guess the takeover wasn't as uncontested as I thought. 

The natives were indeed restless.

The last stop had us standing in the squad room, a place where assignments were handed out at the beginning of each shift. I had changed into the Security Service uniform when we had we visited the locker room. Dressed in all black BDUs with a black armored vest and leather boots, it was a famliar getup. The only difference being the color and the organization I was working for. I hadn't received a rifle yet, but the armorer had signed me out a pistol, a big old fat Glock 40, which was chambered in 10mm. Currently it was holstered across my chest, right above where my magazines for a rifle would normally be stored.

"So Nobe-san, that concludes the tour of our little home away from home. Do you have any questions?" Kitta-san asked and I swallowed. This was a moment of truth, not the moment of truth, but one of them. I already knew the answer to the question that I was about to ask because I had already fervently researched it on the message boards and corporate websites that I had been frequenting. 

"Yeah Boss, before you go, I was wondering if the Security Service has something like a Special Response Team?"

The older man looked at me for a second before scratching his chin. 

"Special Response Team?" He didn't understand the term, so I tried to elaborate. 

"Yeah, like a S.W.A.T. team. Guys that handle more serious threats for the company." I hoped that wasn't too on the nose, but honestly who cared. My hopefully short term boss finally snapped his fingers.

"Ahh! You mean the TRU!" I played along.

"TRU?"

"Ahh yeah, the, er Tactical Response Unit. They're based out of M.B.I. headquarters, you know that giant tower in the center of the city. He gestured with a hand vaguely toward a said building. "If you've ever seen those helicopters flying around, that's them." 

"I see. So how do you go about joining the TRU?"

"Well, I mean I know they have tryouts..."

"Oh? When do those usually happen?" I asked, calmly holding my hands behind my back.
"

Ah, they usually send out emails to supervisors looking for possible candidates. I think I if I'm right there's one next month." he held up his hand, "Oh, but those guys were all Special Forces. I've heard they are super picky, in fact they only allow tryouts with a recommendation!"

Kitta-san paled and subconsciously took a step back. I'm sure it had nothing to do with the  massive grin that suddenly split my face in two.

"Oh a recommendation? And how do I go about getting one of those?"

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I) 

It was September now and I was one step closer to getting what I wanted. To making sure that I had at least a chance in this crazy game. Even with that knowledge, the last month had seen me going stir crazy. 

Still no response from my red haired computer whiz, which had me doubting the veracity of that part of my plan. In fact maybe it was naive to think it would work out so easily. After all , there was no way Matsu was a big enough pervert to waste her time browsing classifieds for kicks? Or shitposting on image boards. 

Right?

Going to a different internet café every day was pain in the ass anyways.

The problem was, I didn't have another plan for that particular problem. Having Matsu on my side would be a massive boon, being able to utilize M.B.I. satellites and surveillance systems was a game changer. It was one of the main reasons why Minato had been successful.

'No, it was the power of love!' I thought that and immediately Kazehana's voice came to mind. I chuckled as I thought of the big busted drunkard acting so mawkish. 

Despite searching the rooftops for any drunken sekirei, I hadn't yet seen hide or hair of her. 

That made me feel, things. 

But no, a bad plan was better than no plan. Because the search for Matsu had stalled on the Izumo Inn front as well. 

Despite driving around on patrols for a month, I hadn't managed to find it. So I had no other choice. 

'You don't even know if she's escaped from M.B.I. yet.' My own self doubt nagged at me, reminding me that most of what I was doing was half assed at best. Had to look on the bright side though.
'Operation Pink and Scary will soon be a go.' 

I was hopefully going to neuter M.B.I.'s ability to administrate Minaka's game by stealing away their very mechanism for monopolizing force.  

The Disciplinary Squad.

'Oh Benitsubasa my love! Where art thou!' I snickered.

I liked her design and attitude, but most of what I remembered was from fan fiction. So who the hell knew what she was really like. Same for the other one- 'Habi? Hanabi? Eh honestly she wasn't that memorable. Had like wolverine claws or something.' 
Beni-chan, though, Beni-chan was a little cutie from what I remembered. Memorable enough that I remembered her after 20 odd years.

'Holy shit it's been a lifetime.'  Sometimes genuinely wondered how I kept it all together as well as I had.  I only remembered the details I did because I had at least the basis of these plans in my head for over two decades. Running them over and over again. What I wanted. What would help me to "win" and beat that original quest. Sometimes the two of those didn't fit hand in hand. Sometimes, well, things really couldn't go my way. 

Karasuba. Sekirei Number 4. Bloodthirsty sadist whose hatred of humanity led to her viewing us like roaches."You didn't stop me, so I killed them all." 
She was also more than likely the one responsible for killing my Dad. 

To put it bluntly, she was a monster. Both in strength and outlook. She only allowed herself to be winged when she managed to find someone as twisted as she was. And on a whim at that. She could not be reasoned with, nor could she be bargained with, unless...

Unless, I had Musubi. Who had had another sekirei inside of her. Who Karasuba wanted to fight, because of unfulfilled sexual tension between them...

Ok, fine. I didn't actually remember the details. 

Musubi, who only became strong enough to defeat Karasuba from the pure love given to her by Minato. 
Love that I didn't know if I was even capable of giving her. Of giving anyone. 

None of the other Sekirei could defeat Karasuba.

Maybe Miya could, but she was a pawn in Minaka's plan, the final obstacle before his "game" could be completed. 

So Minato had to wing Musubi. 

Course that would put MY chances of winning fairly into the dirt, but I could deal with that later.

The only other feasible way to get Karasuba to react to me or someone else. But, while I wasn't a saint, I didn't think I was a nihilist misanthropic prick either. 
Probably the best outcome, wait until she bonds with that M.B.I. stooge and then kill him. Which would terminate her by default. 

Could I kill an innocent man? Would she still bond with him if I broke up the squad? 

Musubi/Minato was still the primary plan. True love FTW and all that. But since meeting Kazehana, I knew I personally needed backup, so Benitsubasa baby, I'm coming for you!

"Gentlemen, congratulations on passing the Selection." I was pulled out of my musings as the TRU Commander, a chap named Asano Jin announced our success with a gravely voice. "Out of 10 potential canidates, you are the only two who remain. As of now, you are probationary members of M.B.I.'s Tactical Response Unit. Your new IDs and security badges are inside these envelopes." A cute blonde woman with her hair done in a single braid walked up and handed us two Manila envelopes. I winked at her when he handed me mine, but she just scowled and walked to stand behind the commander.
"It also contains Sensitive Classified Information relating to current M.B.I. deep cover projects and a generalized threat assessment of Shinto Teito. Take a few moments to look it over, none of it leaves this room."

The selection process had been relatively difficult, if I had been my old self, I doubted I could of hacked it physically.

12 mile truck march in full kit, 3 mile run, pull ups, sit ups, rifle qualification, pistol qualification, psychological evaluation, shoot houses and even a few guided scenarios to judge your tactical acumen. 

They even required you to know English. Which was an easy win. Actually with my insane physical abilities, it all was pretty much relegated to busy work. Just another boring two weeks. Almost October now, time was flying by.

I picked out my ID and badge before leafing through the included materials. Inside was a basic rundown of Sekirei, Ashikabi and the initial invasion of Kamikura Island by the U.S. and Japanese militaries. The threat assessment on the other hand...

'Well shit. Minaka's good at making enemies huh?'
M.B.I. was aware if at least a dozen or so foreign backed adversary groups operating clandestinely within the confines of Shinto Teito. Russians, Chinese, French, American, British, it was like a who's who of intelligence agencies and special forces. Hell even the Japanese government had a SpecOps team in the city.   

"Eh, what's this about aliens, Commander?" The other man who had been selected, a gangly guy in glasses named Kawada, asked. 

"Look, I know it sounds crazy, but I assure you, it's accurate. In fact, you might just see some of them walking around the tower. Believe me, you can't miss them." Suddenly the commander looked around as if he was making sure nobody was listening and his tone grew deadly serious. "But if you see any dressed in a gray or black haori, do not interact with them." He looked around yet again and lowered his voice to just above a whisper. "Especially the one with grey hair and fox eyes. If you know whats good for you, just don't."

"Uh, yeah I got it." Kannada said nervously, still obviously shook up about learning that aliens were in fact real and among us.

I on the other was dealing with a ridicously elevated heart rate. 

They were already here! 

Somewhere in this very building! Kazehana had been a chance meeting outside my control but this time I was purposely seeking them out. Well one of them that is. 

'What if they're already bonded to that gay guy?' What if this was all a waste? I squashed the rising feelings of anxiety. They were not helpful. Though there WAS something that I needed to do when I got home, sooner rather than later. 

"Ok, any other questions about all of this before we introduce you to the rest of the squad? Neither of us said anything, so Commander Asano clapped his hands.

"Ok! So again, congrats. My aide Mika-san here will show you to the ready room. We have an entire floor dedicated to our organization. Indoor range, armory, gym, hell even a landing pad for the Osprey." 
He stepped out and the blonde woman moved forward in his place.

"This way." she deadpanned, turning on her heel and walking out of the conference room. 

"Heh, I think she likes us." Kowada laughed, pushing his glasses up onto his face and fixing his security badge on his uniform. I followed suit, clipping it to my collar.

Teito Tower was nice. Luxuriously decorated, towering columns and open atriums with living plants on multiple floors. It was well over a hundred stories of pure pointless opulence. As if someone had decided on a dramatic theme and had turned it up to 11. In my opinion it fit it's owner to T. 

The TRU headquarters was located on the 45th floor and was one level below the M.B.I.'s "Command Center". We passed by the armory, which we had toured earlier. It was much better stocked than my last place of employment had been. The Commander had told us that we could requisition pretty much any piece of equipment we wanted and M.B.I. would provide it. 

"Excuse me," as she turned towards me I read her surname from her name tag, "Ebine-san, is there anyways to get a map of the building, I'm not used to such big facilities and I'd like to know where the gym and cafeteria are." 

She rolled her eyes.

"Of course that's what you would care about." she looked my musclebound form up and down. "I will get you a printout later. Just remember that the gym is above the living quarters and the cafeteria is the floor above that."

I smiled and nodded my thanks and we resumed walking. 

That was another condition of working with the TRU, you had to live in the Teito Tower barracks during your shift, which was two days on and three days off. Thankfully we each got our own rooms. They were small, but more like a hotel room than anything else. 
There were about sixty TRU operatives that worked in Shinto Teito, organized into large ten man squads and three short platoons of twenty that M.B.I. called "sections". These made up the three shifts, which overlapped. There were also regularly happening training events that could take up to two weeks. Those were held at one of the "Development Centers" which had training areas suitable for the unit's use. 
The three of us entered a large room filled with sofas, two ping-pong tables and various TVs and vending machines. There was also a bank of full wall windows that showcased a spectacular view of Shinto Teito's skyline. 

"Wow, what a view." Kawada exclaimed, walking over to get a closer look. 

"Erherm!" The aide cleared her throat in chastisement. Instead we walked to a group of black clad people sitting around one of the couches. They were watching one of the TVs, which was airing, coincidentally, a Ultimate Fighter match. As one of the fighters got in a lucky blow, half the watchers cheered while the other half booed. 

"Eric-san." Once the cheering died down, Mika spoke to get the attention of one of the spectators. He was a shorter man, thinning brown hair and hazel eyes framing a thin face with pronounced cheeks. He looked to be about 40. More strangely, he was a foreigner. "These are the two replacements. Kawada-san and Nobe-san." She pointed to each of us in turn and the shorter man stood up.

"Thanks Mika." he looked us over before continuing in highly accented Japanese. "Hey cherries, I'm Section 3's Subcommander Eric Stevens, I'm running this little circus here." He held out his hand and we both shook it, introducing ourselves again. "Right well thank you Mika, I'll take it from here." He waved at the woman and she abruptly turned and strode away. "Don't mind her, she's great really, just had some bad news from back home." he informed us after the door had closed behind the standoffish blonde. He paused for a moment and then clapped his hands. "Right! Well let's get you settled in. I'll take you guys to your rooms, then we'll go to the armory to set up your kit. Kawada-san, you have Emergency Medical Technician experience, correct?"

"Yah, I was a medic before in SOF!"

"Ok, when we go for training in a few days I'll have you shadow Daiki, he's our medic."

He turned to me. 

"Nobe-san, I read in your file that were Air Assault and Airborne certified with a Ranger Badge?"

I nodded, "I was a Grenadier, Team Leader and RTO. I'm also extremely gifted in CQB." 

He raised his eyebrow at that. 

"Ah, well cool. Um, you'll be in squad 2 under Udaka-san. He needs an extra man." 

Obviously he didn't think much of my supposed abilities. After all, I had never been Special Forces and thus wasn't a member of the "club". It was just my insane evaluation that had granted me this chance. Maybe that was chafing his pride, I didn't know.

And not that I really cared, I didn't expect to stick around any longer than necessary anyways. In fact, I was still giddy that Benitsubasa was here! They could be as unwelcoming as they wanted. I would still make myself at home.

I just hoped I wasn't too late. 

I grimly reminded myself what I would need to do if I was.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Down Down Left A. 

The big breasted pink frog headed princess launched a fireball out from her mouth which exploded onto her foe's body. However, the wily creature, an anthropomorphic tennis racket, held its arms out at the last second and guarded its body, mitigating most of the damage.

Right right, A A A down B.

A sprint towards her enemy, followed by a series of lighting fast jabs and culminating with a final low kick. For a second it looked that the enemy would fall under her barrage!

However, a quickly executed counter sent her flying back, the maniacial sports equipment diving after her with a flying kick, followed by a brutal head (racket?) butt that sent her flying into the walls. From then on, there was no mercy. 

Perfectly executed combo after combo drained the princess frog's vitality too quickly to mount any kind of offense. With a final victorious shout, the Racket Man unleashed his special attack, slapping his woven face across the princess' face, launching her up into the air and into the atmosphere. 

"KO!" 

The words flashed across the screen, the Racketman character striking a victory pose. 

"LOLOLOL EZ :0!" A speech bubble appeared next to the character, taunting the fallen warrior. 
Haihane gripped the edges of her brand new PS VITA 2 hard enough that the plastic casing made a creaking sound.

'It's fine. It's fine. I'm still a noob, it's fine. CHEAP GARBAGE HACK CHARACT-' She took a breath, relaxing herself and released her death hold. She had recently been gifted a new game system by Sahashi-sensei as a "graduation gift" to replace her aging Gamer Boy. It had been the happiest day of her life so far when she had learned that there was not "a game" but dozens of them! The new game system had come with a advert talking about some of them!  In fact a few had come with the system.

Like "Object Fighter 3"! Which, right now, she didn't like as much as the others. But, "Ruby Quest" and "Date A Squid!" were great! She appreciated every moment of them, even 

Still...it wouldn't do to break her second only gift ever. So best to treat it with respect. She noted that the cacophony of slurps, crunching and lip smacking sounds that she had been ignoring had stopped. Which didn't bode well. 

Exiting the post battle screen, the white haired sekirei closed her eyes and hugged the system to her chest. 
"-d you hear me?"

Haihane ignored the little brute's question, it would inevitably lead to a fight to do otherwise. Of course! ignoring her would also lead to a fight. 

"Oi! Q-tip, you finally go senile? I was talking to you for like 5 minutes."

'And I was ignoring you for just as long. Please get the hint for once.' Despite that thought, from prior experience she knew that it was probably pointless to express those sorts of feelings out loud. She also knew that if she didn't answer this would just continue.

Bubblegum-head did not know the meaning of the word quit. Or tact. Or subtlety, Or harmony. Or Quiet. Or a lot of things.  

"Oh, Beni-chan, did you say something? I was busy doing something more worthwhile." She snidely shot back, picking up a single french fry and dipping into a dollop of creamy yogurt. She popped the sweet and salty combination into her mouth and slowly chewed.
She never would of been able to bring herself to taunt her teammate like that before. She supposed their old teammate Suppai had rubbed off on her in the end. Plus it was fun to piss of Beni-chan.

Suddenly she felt sad, thinking of the former friend. 

Not knowing what she was feeling, Benitsubasa's face colored red as she shook in an effort to contain her petulant rage. Seeing her maybe friend coming to a boil brought her back to the present and she held up her hand to hide a sly grin. Pinky seeing that would only make things.worse. 

"You! You, you you!" Benitsubasa ducked her head and looked left and right. "How dare you say that out here in public?" she finished her reply a lot quieter than she had started it, just as angry, though the red on her face could of been from a number of things.     
"Why? They don't pay attention to us anyways. Not after what she did." Karasuba, the Black Sekirei and the leader of the Disciplinary Squad. Haihane unconsciously shivered as she thought of the older woman. What she said was true though. They had been in the city for less than a day when Karasuba casually decided to ruin their reputation by defenestrating a scientist who in her words 'dared to touch the sun.' Not that Haihane cared too much. Less people bothering her meant she had more time to game. And watch TV. Which was another thing that she had discovered recently. 

Though, watching a human being stuffed through inch thick bulletproof glass face first was a pretty disturbing sight. 

"That's just it! How am I supposed to find my cute Ashikabi if nobody will talk to us!" Benitsubasa pouted, crossing her arms. "We can't leave the tower and here it's just us and these monkeys!"

As if to prove her point she gestured to a group of the black clad humans that were sitting at the other end of the cafeteria. "Ugh, they're so gross. All bony and muscly and hairy! Blegh!" The pink haired girl stuck out her tongue, which Haihane knew was a bad habit of hers. It was sort of endearing though. 

"They just want to eat. No need to throw a tantrum about it." Haihane said, chasing a tomato around her plate. 'I just want an Ashikabi who's laid back and likes to 1v1 death match me once in a while.' Fat chance of that here though. Sahashi-sensei had informed them that M.B.I. already had their Ashikabi candidate selected. 'So much for having a "destined one".'
While she was stuck in her gloomy thoughts, Benitsubasa had turned her attention back to her large gathering of plates, the Fist Type working her way through the remaining ones with gusto.
'I always wondered were she put all of it, it certainly doesn't go to her boobs.' 

"You know what your problem is Hane-chan?", a half eaten turkey leg was pointed at her like a scepter, "You think too much, but you haven't figured out the food chain yet. Too busy nerding it up to realize that WE," the meat stick waved back and forth between them, "aren't in the- HEY, HEY I SEE YOU THERE, YOU BIG CREEPY MONKEY! QUIT IT!" The drumstick was now pointing accusingly at the table where the black clad humans were still sitting. 

After the sudden outburst the room quiet enough that you could hear a pin drop, all the humans quickly looking everywhere except for the woman who had just screamed her displeasure.

'Ugh, still so loud.' Haihane though in reference to her friend's vocal volume. ,"What the hell was that about?' she hissed while holding her ringing ears.
Benitsubasa stared for a moment longer before turning her attention back to her fellow sekirei. 

"That freak has been staring at me for like 5 minutes!" She dropped her food back on her plate and gestured towards her body. "This is for my Ashikabi's eyes only! Not for some random pervert apeman to drool over!" Somewhat curious as to which staff member had been ignorant or dumb enough to piss off the pink haired fire cracker, Haihane turned towards the group of soldiers, who were now eating quietly with their heads down. They're chopsticks made loud clicking noises as they rushed to finish their meal.

"Which one was supposedly staring at you?" She asked. 

"The big ugly one, next to the skinny one with glasses." Benitsubasa rubbed her arms in discomfort, "I could feel his gross monkey eyes all over me!"

Haihane looked for the man that the pinkette had identified. 'She's right, he is big.' Big in height as well as width. She could see what her friend meant though about his looks, his face and mouth were a little too wide to be considered 'pretty' and he had what looked like deep grooves under his eyes. It made him look tired. Or angry. The man himself didn't look to be in a rush to eat like the others and instead was stabbing at his food forcefully with his chopsticks. His face was twisted up, looking decidedly unpleasant. 'Scary!'

"Well," Haihane, shook off the unnerving feeling looking at the brutish man was giving her and tried to lighten the mood. "maybe his washing machine broke and he was looking for a replacement. Eh, washboard?" If there was anything guaranteed to piss of Benitsubasa and distract her, it was commenting on her chest. Or lack thereof. So it was no surprise that for the second time that day her teammate's face flushed red.

"Oh, screw you white head!" Benitsubasa shot back, but something must of caught her eye again before she could really lay into her. Instead she balled her fists and looked past her, scowling. "That ape is STILL looking at me! And now he's freakin' smiling, AGAIN! Seriously, I'm gonna go over there and teach him a lesson!" Growling under her breath, she wasted no time after her proclamation,  jumping up out of her seat and vaulting over the table. With a purpose she strode towards the other group...and was also ostensibly unaware of the giant clump of rice that was stuck to the corner of her mouth. Well this should be entertaining at least.

'Should I tell her?' Haihane debated for a half a moment before picking up her gaming console. Smirking she starting another match. 'No, I don't think I will.'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

'Shit, shit, shit!' I silently panicked as I watched my target push her way through the crowded cafeteria, literally throwing the people that moved too slow for her liking aside. Stepping up and over tables, kicking plates and food everywhere, her mad march left no room for interpretation. 

'Damn she looks pissed.' I internally groaned. 'Great first impression.' And the day had started so promising...

It was a week after I had started working with the TRU team at Teito Tower. That day that I had learned that the girls were here had been both life altering and massively reassuring. One of my plans was working!

For once.

In celebration I had gone out on the town to celebrate. Maybe my good luck would of worn off on my random encounter roll. It didn't. At the end of the night I had returned home, alone. But it wasn't without a major event. After long deliberation into the early morning hours, I had gone home and done something that I had been waiting almost 25 years to do. 

I had reached inside my inventory and delicately removed the the oldest item I had. The one that had been there when I had awoken from my reincarnation. "Blood of the Gods". For a moment I just stared at the little vial in my hand. 

This was it. No going back now. If M.B.I. had any other way of detecting Ashikabi I would be up shit creek without a paddle. 

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Bottom's up!" I popped the cork out of the vial and raised it in a toast. One more moment of hesitation then in it went.

It tasted like hot garbage.  After rinsing my mouth out with some whiskey, I checked the menu. 
Nothing. No changes. I didn't feel any different either. 

'Oh man, I really hopethisstuffstillworksan...' 

The next thing I remembered was waking up to the sound of my alarm. I still didn't feel any different, but when I checked the menu, the race entry was changed to Human/Ashikabi hybrid instead of merely human. And that was that. 

No power ups, no racial bonuses. It was kind of disappointing actually, I didn't know what I was actually expecting, but that wasn't it. 

The next day was spent getting to know the layout of the tower, though I didn't see any pinkettes. Or grey haired swordswomen or Freddy Kruger wannabes. I did however learn why the commander had been so wary of the Disclinpinary Squad. Apparently one of the first things Karasuba had done after arriving in Teito tower was sending a lab tech plummeting 60 stories down and transforming them into a red puddle in the process.

That was fine though, I wasn't interested in Karasuba anyways, she would be more trouble than she was worth. Unfortunately I seemed to remember Benitsubasa having a bit of a temper as well. 
So being wary of any of them was probably good advice. Advice that if followed would of maybe helped me avoid this particular situation.

In my defense, I couldn't help myself! The moment I had entered the cafeteria that day I had spotted her and much like with Kazehana, my mind had been overcome with potent emotion! So much so that I barely managed to stumble to the table that the group I was with had chosen. And when I dropped my lunch tray clumsily down the table and taken my seat, my eyes had been glued to the object of my interest more often than not. It took an active effort to look away and even then I would find myself sneaking a peek at the current object of my desires. In all fairness my stare held on her for perhaps a bit longer than appropriate. But it's like I just wanted to make sure she didn't go anywhere. That she didn't disappear. 

My objective. Something that I had planned and anticipated for months actively. I needed her to help me. I wanted her because of what she was to me.
She was perfect. Utterly captivating, my attention was locked on, like a surface to air missile on a red hot exhaust port. 

Heart shaped face. A cute button nose and exotic crimson colored eyes and pink hair. She was small, petite, but that only added to her overall allure. She had haphazardly discarded her gray Discplinary Squad haori and red MMA gloves on the table next to her and was left wearing a black modified kimono with white and red trim. Two white bird crests were embroided on either side of her chest and the long sleeves of her uniform tapered outward at the ends.

A big red puffy bow was tied around her waist and acted like a belt. 

Her short hair was held in place by two flower shaped hair clips and hung to the side in a side mounted pony tail. Where Kazehane had been impeccably beautiful, Benitsubasa was unbearably cute.

I had to know. My mouth was suddenly dry. 

"Observe"

"Name: Benitsubasa - Sekirei 105
Level: 65
Title: The Red Sekirei
Race: Ssatho'Alopewii (Sekirei) - Unwinged
Age: 18
Karma: 22
Affiliation: M.B.I. Discplinary Squad
Emotional State: Joyous at the high quality of food she's enjoying.
Threat Level: High
 
HP: 585,650
SP: 533,975

>STR: 81
>CON: 40
>STA: 55
>DEX: 75
>INT: 8
>WIS: 6
>PER: 60"

Relief flooded my body as I saw the "Unwinged" status modifier. 

'I'm not too late!' I was giddy with excitement. She was great! Strong too. 

'Huh, if I remember correctly, she's actually stronger than Kazehana by a good margin. Tougher and faster too. But those Intelligence and Wisdom scores, oof. They're lower than the average person's. Also her health and stamina are lower. So her physical attacks should be stronger and faster, but she can take less hits?"

The sheer level of her strength though still shocked me slightly. I resolved to somehow narrow that gap. 
'Maybe it's time to enter the next dungeon after all.'
I picked at my food, more interested in watching Benitsubasa tear through multiple plates of food with a joyous voracity that I truly thought only existed in shounen characters. Seriously it was adorable. Though now that I thought of it, Kazehana had done much the same back in the bar, so maybe it was a species wide quirk.

"I still can't believe their aliens. Though they way she's eating, maybe not THAT surprised!" Kawada, who was sitting next to me, remarked. "I don't think I would ever see ET playing a PS VITA so though." 

Indeed, the other sekirei at the table, the one whose name I had actually forgotten, was like me largely ignoring her tray of food and instead was playing some kind of handheld video game console. She seemed intensely focused on it, ignoring her seatmate's apparent one sided conversation. 

I activated the Observe ability again. 

"Name: Haihane - Sekirei 104
Level: 63
Title: The Blue Sekirei
Race: Ssatho'Alopewii (Sekirei) - Unwinged
Age: 18
Karma: 61
Affiliation: M.B.I. Discplinary Squad
Emotional State: Frustrated with a difficult opponent.
Threat Level: High
 
HP: 336,262
SP: 470,250

>STR: 61 
>CON: 35
>STA: 55
>DEX: 95
>INT: 11
>WIS: 9
>PER: 50"
   
'Ah, that was her name! Haihane. Pretty name for a pretty girl.'

Like all sekirei I had seen so far, she was exceptionally pretty, though in her case it looked like she was trying to downplay that. After all her bone white hair his half of her face, showing only one black eye and a pale mouth. Her Kimono was purposely tattered, falling off her shoulder and bunching around her tight waist. It was held in place by two leather belts. Unlike her smaller busted companion, her breasts were full. Nothing compared to Kazehana, but they were pleasant to behold nonetheless. The rest of her body was bizzarrely covered from neck to boots by white medical bandages. Even her fingers, which were miraculously unstained from eating. 

'How long does it take to get ready in the morning? Geeze, little Miss Edgelord.' I shook my head and quietly named her Miss Mummy. 

The rest of her outfit consisted of leather knee high boots. Those I could see because she had pulled her legs up onto her chair and was sitting in a crouched position. At the moment it also looked like she had set down her game system and was conversing with her teammate, who was visibly becoming more and more agitated with something...

"-HEY I SEE YOU THERE, YOU BIG CREEPY MONKEY! QUIT IT!" I nearly fell out of my chair as a shrill, girly, ear-splittingly loud voice silenced the entire room.
Almost everyone at my table jumped at the sudden commotion, but seeing where it had originated from quickly they all turned back eating. The tapping sound of utensils scraping trays increasing in frequency as they all hurried to finish their food. The source of their nervousness was all to obvious. Benitsubasa was glaring bloody murder towards our group after all but more in particular, at myself.

"Moron! Big guy? Nobe-san? Leave it alone!" A chorus of condemnation came from my new found teammates and I just nervously shrugged. I didn't think I afraid of these two. Though, that wasn't completely true. Sure I knew they could probably splatter me all over the floor, walls and ceiling, with minimal effort. 

I didn't think they would though. At least with little ol' pinkie, I remember her mellowing out at the end of the series, so she couldn't be all bad. Hopefully? Still though, how stupid. I stabbed at my food with my chopsticks, scowling .'Great first impression moron. Maybe I should try and apologize.' I raised my head again and looked over at the girl's table again. This time when blue eyes met red, I smiled the most charming smile I could and waved. Instead of anything approaching normal civility her face went even redder and she began waving her arms frantically. With a start, she leapt up, which led to the current situation that I found myself

'Correction, she looks REALLY pissed. Like about to rip my head off angry.'  I hoped that wasn't a serious notion. This close and I could see that she was trembling with rage. 

Ok, maybe I had misjudged the situation. But honestly this was a least a little funny. A group of grown men in fear of what appeared to be a slip of a girl. Though with her gaze fiercely focuses on my own, even a I was having to  put a little effort into stopping my foot from shaking in fear. And I knew more than most. 

"Dumbass." somebody muttered as suddenly the table cleared out to my left and the right, only leaving Kawada, who looked like he only remained out of confusion. Even though he had probably heard the story of Karasuba's first victim in Shinto Teito, it seemed this sudden development had him uncertain on what exactly to do.

I figured I should give him some gentle prodding, this was nobody's fault but my own.

"Man, what did you do to piss her off?" I obtusely joked, elbowing his side and nodding my head towards the approaching one alien cyclone.

Not finding my comment funny, Kawada paled and dropped his utensils, abandoning his plate and running out of the room, where he soon joined with a gaggle of employees watching the expectant massacre from the safety of the doorway. 

"Screech!" 

The last barrier between myself and the tiny terror was ripped away as she slid the entire lunch table I was sitting at to the side, leaving me completely exposed, my lunch having gone flying off with rest of the table. I resisted the urge to cross my arms. 

"I wasn't done with that." I tried to put some jovially in my voice, but she wasn't having it. 

"YOU GOT A PROBLEM WITH US OR SOMETHING MONKEY?!" Benitsubasa had fully arrived, bringing the full force of her personality to bear like a hurricane making landfall.  I winced as her voice threatened to deafen me with its vociferousness. Hands planted on her hips she glowered at me, the stern look undercut by her diminutive frame. It was then for the first time I noticed her pink knee-high heeled boots. 

Not the kind of shoe that one would think would be optimal for a martial artist to wear.

'Awww, is someone is sensitive about their height!'  Joking around was slightly helping to fumigate the butterflies in my stomach. I looked up at her, but I didn't have to move much. She really was tiny. 'Amazing to think that she could probably demolish an armored bridgade by herself.' 

This close too, I was struck again by her otherworldly appearance. Her skin was absolutely perfect, not a single pockmark or scar anywhere to be foundm. Even her snarling face right now didn't managed to detract from the utter perfection of her visage. Even her teeth were blindingly white and perfectly straight!

'Fuck you're beautiful.'

"Wha-Wha-Wha?" She stammered, her hands frozen mid-admonishment. The red on her face shifted, moving further up towards her eyes as she blushed, the angry look melting away until only confusion and uncertainty remained.

Oh, I guess I had said that last part out loud. 
Honestly, I couldn't care less because I felt happy. 
It felt right to say that sort of thing to her. Not just because it was true, but because it felt like what I was meant to do. 

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

"Wha-Wha-Wha?"

Benitsubasa's brain had short circuited. She could feel the heat on her face as she struggled to respond to this new series of events.

'He thinks I'm what?!' She felt bamboozled, when she had been storming over here that last thing she had ever expected the damn monkey to say was that!  
'I don't know..I...' The Red Sekirei turned away and grabbed at the hem of her battle dress. She felt something about that, she just couldn't, put a finger on it. 

"Hey." His voice was suddenly closer, he was standing now and had moved uncomfortably close.c

'I didn't see him move! How did he-' she twirled back around and had to stop a squeak from escaping her lips. 

Wow, he was big. She had noticed it before, but here standing next to her, she barely came up to his chest. Suddenly she felt extremely vulnerable. 

Which PISSED her off!

"Tch!" Benitsubasa grit her teeth and clenched her fists. Those feeling had been left in past! She was not that little girl any more!

What the hell was wrong with her! Despite the weird feeling slowly spreading from her belly that was making her legs feel like jello, she knew she was stronger than this! She raised her eyes and met his own.

'I'm not weak!' She tried to glare defiantly, but instead her eye's watered, completely ruining any intimidating effect she might of been going for.

"Hey, you've got something on your face."
Again taken by surprise, she suddenly felt a spike of embarrassment. Why?

Wasn't she angry? She had been angry, right?  She reached her hand up to check if it was true but was interrupted once again. 

"Here, let me." His voice was so deep and rumbling. His face was so masculine, his muscles were bulging with every little movement. And his hand was so big! It came closer and closer as he invaded her personal space. It should of infuriated her, but she seemingly couldn't do anything about it.

Did she want to stop it? 

A weird feeling had taken hold down at the base of her spine. A tingling, burning feeling that was slowly growing in both size and intensity as it clambered up her spine and my latched onto her chest, wormed it's way into her head and flooded her more intimate parts. Her heart rate skyrocketed. Her eyes felt glassy, her vision constricted and focused entirely on the man in front of her. The part of her chest, inside her rib cage next to her heart, the unique organ most intrical to any of her kind, began to pulse in time with her belabored breathing. The Sekirei core, her tama, the part of her that she drew on when utilizing her most powerful combat abilities, was reacting in a way she had never experienced before. 

"What's...happening...to me." she panted, ashamed of how weak her voice sounded. Even more ashamed that he had heard her sound so weak. Fat tears started to build, as the emotional toll began to build. The space between her shoulder blades burned steadily. 

His hand brushed her chin, just the lightest of touches, flicking whatever it had been stuck to her face onto the floor. An electric charge tickled across her chin, the static building with every second the touch lingered. Instead of withdrawing, that big strong hand held her jaw and tilted her head up to face him. His thumb rested gently on her lower lip.

The feeling of his rough skin was both agony and exctasy. A primal need, one that she had  known but never full realized before had seized her and she was hard pressed to think of anything else. The feeling in her core was buzzing along unimpeded, increasing with intensity with every painfully pleasurable moment she spent in his presence.

"I need you Benitsubasa. I always have. But it's your choice. I won't take that from you." His deep blue eyes sparkled in a way that set her heart a flutter anew, beating so fast now that it felt like a jackhammer was striking the inside of chest. 
She never even thought to ask how he knew her name. It only felt natural that he would. That he would know every fiber of her being. 

'YES!'  Benitsubasa reached up and grabbed her Ashikabi around the neck and drew him close. 

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Coffee sprayed all over a computer monitor as an grating alarm abruptly started blaring. The technician manning the workstation hastily wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his shirt before wildly typing a series of commands that resolved the red alert messages on his display. Reading quickly, his face paled with what he found. 

"Sahashi-sensei! Sahashi-sensei!" He shouted as he stood, the M.B.I. command and control center suddely falling quiet in light of the new commotion.

"What is it?" An older woman with graying hair approached the panicking technician at a fast clip. Coming to a stop behind his chair, she  looked over the information being displayed on his workstation as he explained his sudden reaction.

"We have a reaction reading from number 105!" he replied, gesturing to the still visible messages on the terminal's screen.

"105? Impossible." Sahashi Takami pulled out a radio and held it up her mouth. "Location? Give me a visual!"

"Yes ma'am!" The tech replied, pulling up one of the security cameras in the employee cafeteria. 

Takami frowned as she took in the scene. A man dressed in the uniform of the TRU was standing next to one of the Disciplinary Squad members! It was obviously an intimate moment and there was no mistaking what was about to happen. 

"Security! Karasuba! Get your asses to the cafeteria NOW! Stop the man in there by any means, do NOT let him wing 105!" the scientist roared into the walkie talkie.  

She ignored the acknowledging replies, one positive, one sarcastic and stared at the scene taking place in front of her. 

'How the hell did we miss this?'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

I licked my lips. I had laid it out for Benitsubasa. The ball was in her court. I wasn't lying when I told her it was her decision. I was many things but I wasn't a rapist. That's what made the secondary villains of this world such despicable scumbags. Though I didn't really believe in the "destined one" spiel either that the main character and others had been so fond of spouting. 

Really out of 8 billion people, the only ones compatible for the invisual sekirei happened to all exist in Japan in one city? Yeah, press x to doubt. It was probably actually due to genetics and mental compatibility as well as whatever drove subconscious desire. 

Either way whatever the mysterious drive behind the reaction truly was, it was patently obvious that Benitsubasa was deep in the throes of it. 

All of sudden she went from disheveled to completely calm. In fact, she looked radiant. Glowing with an ethereal elegance that I had never before witnessed in another living being. Her eyes were closed and she looked totally at peace. 
I tensed for second as small but strong hands circled around my neck and gently pulled me down to meet her. 

I licked my lips as the distance between us disappeared. My hands. as if they had developed a life of their own, grabbed her by the small of her back and pulled her hips closer to me. I could feel the heavily corded muscle of her body slightly give under my fingers. It was sexy as hell. I risked a quick glance over her shoulder at Haihane. She seemed shocked, her game system lying forgotten on the table as she peeked at us from between the gaps in her fingers. 

I closed my eyes.

"Safe!" A cold mocking voice laughed right as I felt my slight parted mouth hit something hard and unyielding with an audible "click".

One moment I was holding the woman of my dreams in my arms, the next she was gone. The switch was so quick that I didn't even manage to process it for a few seconds, my brain trying desperately to catch up. 

I lethargically turned my head and my eyes traced the long black object back to its origin. 

Two narrowed icy grey eyes and a shallow leer were the first things I saw. Followed by a messy tangle of gray hair, a single strand hanging down the middle. A grey haori and black kimono, almost identical to the one around Benitsubasa's waist. The black object that was currently pressed up against my bared teeth was gripped by a thin yet unwavering hand. It was a sheathed nodachi, a type of Japanese long sword.
Karasuba. My eyes narrowed. Somehow she had gotten here and interrupted the winging. That immovable obstacle was here.   

"Naughty, naughty." Her voice was sickly sweet and the corners of her mouth turned up even further. "Somebody's trying to get a head start before the race." I also noticed that Karasuba was a lot taller than the others, probably around 170cm.  I stared at her warily, like a mouse caught in the hypnotic gaze of a stalking feline. 

So intent on this new threat, that I didn't even notice what she was holding in her other hand until frantic movement caught my eye. 

The Black Sekirei held the Red's throat with her free hand, suspending the smaller girl completely off the ground. The pinkette resisted, scrabbling uselessly against the iron like grip of her senpai's hold, beating at the arm and clawing in an effort to escape. It was hopeless though, even I could tell. Karasuba's hold was immovable. She was being viciously choked in the meantime and already Benitsubasa's eyes were starting to roll upwards.  Every second her kicks were getting weaker and weaker as the lack of blood flow caught up with her. She managed one last look towards me, a pleading one that begged for help before she finally fell limp. 

I felt my blood boil.

"Leave her alone!" I yelled, smacking the sheathed blade aside with an outstretched hand. I reached for-

"Smack!"

I fell to my knees, blood pouring out of my shattered nose. Small red droplets rained to the ground. It felt like I was hit by a train. 

"Status: Minor Bleeding (60s)"

Karasuba chuckled evilly and shouldered her sheathed sword. 

"Oh, how romantic! Come on now worm, care to try again? True love never fails right?" She mocked our suffering. giving the unconscious sekirei a none to gentle shake. "Scared I'll take your prize away? Here let me put her some place safe for you." With a casual movement, Karasuba tossed Benitsubasa's limp form with incredible force, slamming her into the wall and sending her crashing through it in a mess of plaster and aluminum studs. 

"BENITSUBASA!" I shouted and jumped up to rush over to where she had been thrown, but I was stopped again by the sheathed sword slamming into my gut. This time it hit me with enough power to lift my entire large frame off the ground. I crumpled to the floor, ignoring the Status notifications about internal bleeding, focusing instead on trying to get my ability to breathe back. 

"Sit. Good monkey!" It was obvious she was enjoying this. The woman was a blatant sadist. "If you want her, you'll have to go through me." She leaned over and leered, "Come on, I don't mind if you try."

Clutching my stomach, I managed to raise my head just enough to use Observe.

"Name: Karasuba - Sekirei 04
Level: 86
Title: The Black Sekirei
Race: Ssatho'Alopewii (Sekirei) - Unwinged
Age: 28
Karma: -250
Affiliation: M.B.I. Discplinary Squad
Emotional State: Amused at your suffering
Threat Level: Very High
 
HP: 842,800
SP: 1,548,000

>STR: 80
>CON: 49
>STA: 60
>DEX: 120
>INT: 11
>WIS: 15
>PER: 70"

I paled. I wasn't going to win this. I didn't think I could talk my way out either. I could almost sense the bloodlust emanating from her. She was nearly vibrating in anticipation of violence. 

I steeled myself. I took the fear that I was feeling and tried to convert it into something useful. I glanced at where Benitsubasa had been thrown. Why did she do that? What gave her the right? I quickly took stock of my options, looking at my items and abilities. There would be no hiding my abilities after this. Win or lose it wouldn't be as a normal human.

Fuck it. 

25 fucking years and for what? To be denied what was mine by some nihilistic misanthropic loser with a superiority complex? 

Nah.

"I suppose could let you go, if you grovel a bit. In the dirt, where worms bel-"

My outstretched finger slammed into her chest and pierced knuckle deep into her flesh. I even felt a bone snap, probably a rib. For a moment, nobody moved, Karasuba because presumably she was in shock, I because my hand was lodged firmly in her chest.

'Fuck, miss!.'  Indeed, Whether by fortune or reflex, Karasuba had shifted at the last minute and I had missed her core with my strike. 

Not waiting for her to recover, I launched into a brutal combination. Withdrawing my hand I let fly a left straight, elbow, palm strike, knee to the chest, straight, jab. I let all the blows rain on her. 

I had activated Flurry and One Inch Death Punch. One which increased my speed and strength and the other which allowed for near instantaneous acceleration of blows regardless of distance.
Despite the boost, other than that first successful strike, nothing I threw at her seemed to be getting through. Oh, I was pushing her back, but that was just my larger mass.

In fact other than the firat, she seemed like she hardly noticed my blows. It wasn't that they were incapable of causing any damage, the first strike had proven that. I could just barely see that before every impact, she would subtly shift her body to deflect the blow. However, Momentum had activated. The leveled up ability increased by STR by 10% times and DEX 15% times per connected blow. Karasuba grunted as by the tenth blow as my strength had increased to 50, arrogance aside, she was no longer just absorbing and deflecting the blows but instead actively dodging them. Meanwhile my movements had become faster and faster with every touch.

Unfortunately even my fastest blows failed to reach her fully. Her reflexes and dexterity were just too high. Without the element of surprise, now that she was expecting my attack I simply couldn't reach her. 

"Heavy Blow". I snapped to a crouch and lashed out with a sweeping kick that would of cracked a steel beam in half. As if sensing the approach of the more dangerous strike, double my already enhanced strength, she nimbly hopped over my leg.  

"Well, well, well, aren't you fiest-" 

"BLAM BLAM BLAM BLAM!" Her eyes widened, showing her grey irises for the first time as the Tech 9 Auto Pistol I had stolen off a wannabe Yakuza punk appeared in my hand and instantly began firing. She deflected the first few shots with her sword, the sheathe going flying off to the side as she flicked the blade clear. Live steel now bared, I gaped as she literally blurred out of view.

"Fuck!" Reacting quickly, I looked down the weapon's sights and instantly the world slowed to a crawl, the colors of everything washing out into a muted grey. 

"Bullet Time", time is slowed  by 75% while looking down the scope of a weapon. 

Even with that hack of an ability she was on me in a second, still moving faster in my eyes than an extremely athletically gifted human would of been capable of. I fired off a quick burst at point blank range.

It was a weird thing, watching her eyes track the rounds as they left the barrel of the gun. She deflected three of them, but one just barely slipped by, penetrating her upper arm. 

Not that that stopped her. 

"Entrenchment"

The slash she directed at my chest connected, but bounced off my skin as if it was striking a wall of iron. In exchange, I watched as my Stamina bar dropped almost all the way to zero. It began filling up immediately but still it was hell of a hit.  One that I couldn't shrug off again. 

I watched as Karasuba leapt back, staring at my chest expectantly. When I didn't start hemorrhaging as expected, she pursed her lips. 

"That didn't miss...." she tapped a long slender finger against her mouth.

I gulped and threw the now empty machine pistol as hard as I could at her face. She casually sliced it in half, letting both pieces fly past her. 

"I don't know why you're so angry. You must be confused. You do know that it doesn't work that way, right little bird? Didn't someone teach you the birds and the ashikabis?" Karasuba teased as she stalked back and forth like a wild animal. She twirled her sword in an intricate spiral. The hole in her chest was still oozing blood, as was the bullet wound in her arm, but I could tell they were already slowing. Sekirei must have more efficient clotting. She cocked her head and regarded me curiously, "What's your number, I don't remember seeing you before." She tapped her sword against her kimono, clearly in thought.  

'Keep her talking.' I told myself, watching as my stamina bar steadily kept rising. I eyed the hole that Benitsubasa had made, but I couldn't see her, nor could I see Haihane anymore either. Which was good, hopefully they were ok. 

"Number? Man, you sekirei are forward. Usually I'd be the one asking for that." My bar was steadily gaining. Apparently Karasuba mistakenly thought I was a sekirei, which I could see making sense from her perspective, "Though you don't seem like one to put out on the first date. More stabby, stabby, than lovey, dovey."

Grim as it was, I was doing a lot better than I had predicted. My once suicidal charge now had morphed into more of an acceptable tactical risk. Or maybe she just hadn't started taking me seriously yet. She certainly didn't appreciate my attempt at humor in any case.  Instead she frowned and fingered the hilt of her nodachi, though at the moment she didn't say anything. 

So I continued to stall for time, "Nope, I'm a 100% home grown homo sapien F.Y.I.." I answered the unspoken question, trying to momentarily placate her. My SP was almost fully recovered and my HP bar was up to a quarter and slowly climbing. The bleeding from my nose had stopped and the pain affecting my insides had dulled quite a bit. 

"Maaa, maaa, you're not lying to me are you?" She gave a closed mouth smile again, her eyes back to slits.

"Well only one way to find out, pucker up Miss Martian, I'm going in raw!" I japed in English. I didn't feel nearly as confident as I sounded. Neither did I get the chance to enjoy the confused look on Karasuba's face as she tried to figure out what the hell I was talking about.

Trauma Kit, Dash, Counter Strike, Momentum, Flurry, Battle Rythmn, One Inch Death Punch, Entrenchment. 

Trauma Kit stopped any bleeding and restored 25% of my health.

 
Dash doubled my Dexterity.

Counter Strike would return all damage taken in melee range at triple my regular DEX. 

Momentum, for every strike I made, increased my dexterity by 15% and my STR by 10%.

In contrast, Flurry buffed DEX by 50% and STR by 10%.

One Inch Death Punch kept the same power regardless of how much force I actually used to strike with. 

Lastly Battle Rhythm, one of two active abilities that had a constant drain on SP. It basically was spidey-sense, but not as useful. At least the level 1 version was. It gave a tingle that was almost like an instinct about a half second before an attack was to make contact. Like your body telling you to duck, or jump that way. 

Addictive power filled me up. I felt like my muscles were about to burst! With all my bonuses, it hopefully would be enough. There was no way that I could lose, right? What was I ever worried about? The pouring of power into my body and my foolish arrogance flared again.

Without warning, I sped forward, moving faster than I had before! My target, standing still was obviously in shock at my sudden increase in speed! It had to be so. 

It was only when I had already committed that I noticed the weird look on her face, but it was too late. 

A Colt 1911 appeared in my hand and my finger tightened on the trigger, my other hand with two fingers extended, aimed once again for the center of her chest  

'I won't miss!' For Benitsubasa, for my safety, to prove that I was a serious threat. To show that past 25 years of hard work were worth it! For my dad. 

To prove that I could win!

Something tingled on the left side of my body and I obeyed my artificially augmented instincts. I threw my body to the right. The razor sharp blade continued tickling my back and my fist automatically lashed out as Counter Strike activated. Another feeling of impending danger and I ripped my left hand out of it's current path, something sharp and deadly whizzing past with with a concerning whistle.. Counter Strike forced me again to execute a side kick 

'I CAN do this!' I raised the pistol and squeezed the trigger. 

Nothing happened.

"Huh?" I lamely uttered. Dumbly, I held up the 1911 in my hand. 'Did it jam?'

Instead of a slick black .45 caliber auto, I saw a tattered fleshy mess of red and white, the mangled remains of my hand hanging limply at the end of my arm. 

'How? I didn't-' Something wet ran down my back, my uniform suddenly feeling waterlogged.

I looked for Karasuba, but she had disappeared 

"Status: Major Bleeding (120s)" 
Status: Broken Bone - Left Hand Crippled"

'Huh, so... that's what happened.' I felt lightheaded all of a sudden. My eyes lazily moved to my HP bar. 
'Oh, I guess I'm dying.' There was only a smidgen of bar left and it was rapidly depleting. My stamina bar was also completely empty. 

I didn't really know how to feel about that. 

"How strange, you're still standing? That's impressive, for a, well whatever-you-are at least." I turned my head to the side, just far enough to see the Black Sekirei. She was casually leaning against the wall, her nodachi resheathed and held horizontally in her hands behind her back. Her eyes were squinted again and her face set in a smug grin.   

"Damn it!" I tried to organize my thoughts, but they were a mess. 'Ban-bandages!' I quickly pulled a bandage out of my inventory and slapped it on my hand. 

"Bandage Applied: Bleeding Stopped" Instantly my health bar stabilized and the flow of blood stopped.

"You know, you certainly look like monkey, at least on the inside." I ignored her continued mockery,, instead concentrating on saving my own life. "If it's any consolation, I DID feel those last two. Just not very much." 

'Potions.' I pulled a pair of Medium Health Potions out of my inventory. I painfully pulled the first cork out of one with my teeth and tilted it back, throwing the empty vial to the floor. Immediately I felt the wounds on my back begin to close, strength coming back to me as my HP bar filled up to about a quarter. 
I popped the cork on the second one but I never got the chance to drink it as Karasuba suddenly materialized in front of me and snatched the vial away. I was again stunned for moment on just how fast she was.   

"Drinking on the job not-monkey-chan?" she held the vial between her fingers and sniffed it. "Sweets?" she said the last part more to herself before quickly recapping the vial and turning her attention back to me. Her movements were so quick. I hadn't even seen her move. "You're weird." She used her sheathed sword to tilt my head around as if inspecting it closely would reveal whatever secrets I was hiding. Appearing satisfied with whatever she found, she pulled her sword away and stuffed the vial into her blouse.

"I know you tried to kill me." she smiled and her slitted eyes opened a tiny bit. She tapped the wound I had made in her chest. "You knew to aim for my core and that would of been the end of little old me."  she chuckled and grabbed me by the collar, pulling me painfully down to her level. "I can see it in your eyes, you still want to kill me, even now. Don't you?" She sounded happy when she said that. "To. Bad. You're. Just. Too. Weak." She pulled me forward again, our faces were inches away. I tried to resist, but she was unrelenting. "You know, I think Takami-sensei would prefer if I kept you alive, but honestly for me, it would be more convienent if you were dead." She paused for a moment as if considering something, "Less troubling too." She mumbled the last part and I could feel her hot breath on my cheek.

I had no doubt in my mind that she would follow through with ilher thought This woman was an unapologetic killer. 

Well that was it, I had given it my all. And it still wasn't good enough. 

'I hope that Benitsubasa is ok. I wish I had gotten to meet Matsu. Bye Kazehana. Bye Mom, Emiru, I love you. Sorry Dad, revenge will have to wait.' My thoughts were melancholic as I awaited the final blow. I was felt resigned....

Perhaps my arrogance had been my downfall in the end. But still, some part of me still wanted to resist. Was this really the best I had to offer? Maybe, but still, 'If I'm going out as an arrogant bastard, might as well go all in.' I smiled as wide as I could. With my big ol' mouth I'm sure it was a unsettling sight. 'That's right, fuck this crazy bitch.' I raised myself up to my full height, as painful as that was, 'Never give up, that's the human way!'

"Hey K-chan, I heard that Yume was a lousy fuck, mind confirming that for me?" I spat out the best insult I could think of in the moment and for the first time I saw Karasuba truly lose her composure. Instantly she recoiled, eyes wide open. Raw hatred clouded her otherwise elegant features. 

"You filthy vermin! How dare you say her name! I'll-'
The "Invisible Knife" appeared instantaneously in my grip, called from depths of my inventory and I sliced into the sleeve of her kimono, into the flesh of her arm, passing the gap of her sleeve and then slashing across her left breast. It was bizarre, seeing the effect. First her kimono disappeared, then she herself did as I cut her arm, though when the blade left her flesh and crossed the gap between her arm and chest, she reappeared, the second cut undoing the effect. However, her clothes did not as I maintained contact, still being cut only once. 

So, I was treated to a spectacular view of her unnaturally pale skin, muscular abdomen and modest yet perfectly shaped breasts before I was flung away with the speed of rocket. I lost my grip on the knife from the pure force of the blow. Much like Benitsubasa earlier, I slammed into the wall, unlike her the wall I careened into also happened to be the exterior windows showcasing the beautiful vista of Shinto Teito. With a mighty crash the panes shattered into a million sparkling pieces, pieces that caught the gleam of the evening sun and managed to look pretty damn majestic. 

What wasn't majestic was the thick shards of glass that had embedded themselves into my back during my unplanned flight. My HP bar dropped dangerously low again.

Still, I managed to look back into the cafeteria in the final few moments before my horizontal momentum bled out and I couldn't keep the smile on my face.

'Heh, she did it again.' I wasn't the first to be thrown out the window, probably wouldn't be the last, but I think I'd take this one personally. 

Though, was that a blush on her face? Or was it anger? Trick of the light?

Yanderes, eat your heart out. 'Crazy Bitch.' I sighed one last time as I plummeted to my doom. 

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Haihane cradled Benitsubasa's limp form, the other girl having still not woken up since Karasuba had casually tossed her through several walls. Thankfully, she wasn't terminated, her chest still moved confirming that small scrap of good news.
She might of been an annoying little brat, prone to anger and outbursts, rude and impolite, but she was her friend. Her only friend. They might of bickered constantly, but that didn't make it any less true. 

Not that she would ever admit that to anyone that asked. 

Though friends or not, the last few minutes had been insane. She had never seen anything like it. First her friend has a reaction to some random human. She knew that's what that was, unlike Beni, she had paid attention during the classes. She could practically see the heat coming off off the little Sekirei's body when she had started the moment she had started talking to that man. Truth be told, she had felt something as well, looking at the way he had gently tilted back her head and gazed lovingly at her. After that Karasuba had separated them, she had seen the way the man had yelled out Benitsubasa's name and moved to immediately to help her.     

'Just like a hero. You're so lucky Benitsubasa' 
She was jealous of her fiend. An ashikabi that would fight to protect their sekirei? That wasn't how it was supposed to work! Actually, she didn't understand how a human could fight like that in the first place. He had even managed to wound Number 04! 
It didn't matter if it was accomplished with the element of surprise. It shouldn't have happened. She had sparred with the Black Sekirei on more than one occasion during their Disciplinary Squad training.
Her and her two teammates had never been able to touch her. And she was exceedingly lethal. Poor, poor, Suppai had learned that the hard way...

"Where is we? Haihane-chan? Woah." she jumped at her friends voice. Benitsubasa eyes were unfocused and she slurred her words. "Wha 'appen?" 

"Karasuba-san. She threw you through the wall." Haihane chewed on her lip, hoping that would be enough. 

"Issthatit? What about monkey?" the pink haired girl moved, trying to sit up. She moved slowly and clumsily, like she had lost her sense of balance. After a few failed attempts, she gave up, dropping back into the Blue Sekirei's arms, her head resting on her chest.

"He's fighting Karasuba-san." The reaction was much of what she expected. 

"What? She'll 'ill him! Gotta, gotta help." She exclaimed, gritting her teeth and bringing her battered body slowly up right. Haihane debated stopping her. The loud sound of gunshots continued coming from the other room. Obviously he wasn't dead yet. 

Somehow.

But in the end she knew there was no stopping Benitsubasa when she had her mind set on something. Might as well assist her if she could. 

"Hold on. Let me help." She stood and hoisted Beni-chan up, taking her arm over her shoulder. Together they stumbled over to the newly created hole in the wall. 

"Wez gonna be together forever 'Hane-chan." The girl she was assisting mumbled, though she noticed she was regaining more and more of of her strength with every step. "Ashikabi-kun and me!" 

She didn't reply, they had reached the broken drywall and she pushed Benitsubasa through before following. There were no more gunshots and everything was quiet which could only mean one thing. One look confirmed that the scene inside was pretty much as she had feared yet expected it to be. 
Karasuba held the human up by the collar of his uniform.

He wasn't looking so good.

His back, which was the part of him that they could see, was slashed to ribbons and soaked with blood. What seemed like buckets of the crimson liquid was pooled on the floor all around. The wound was deep enough that she could see pieces of white inside the red gashes. Haihane knew that any Sekirei that had taken that kind of damage would of been deactivated already.  

'That much blood, he can't have much left.' She spared a look at Benitsubasa, who's knees were shaking and jaw was slack. 

"N-n-no, monkey-kun." Her friend gasped, seeing her future Ashikabi in such a state was likely shocking
He looked defeated. Slumped over and exhausted, he was on his final legs. 

'Humans can't fight sekirei.' Haihane bowed her head and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. 'Not like we could stop her either.' She felt Benitsubasa try to move forward, but she held her back. Karasuba would not hesitate to kill either of them if they got in her way. 'Please forgive me.'

"Hey K-chan, I heard that Yume was a lousy fuck, mind confirming that for me?"

'What? Why is he antagonizing her? Oh jeeze, he's crazy!' Haihane reasoned. 'Talk about brave though.' She watched in admiration as the foolish human straighted his back, uncaring of the massive danger he was in. That was probably the single most sensitive topic that you could broach with Karasuba. 

The Black Sekirei snarled something threatening and reared back her hand,  but then something certifiably insane happened. 

Before anyone could properly react the man slashed his arm to the side, bright red blood exploding out of a suddenly appearing wound on the Black Sekirei's hand. She didn't explicitly see a weapon, but it sure looked like something her claws would of been capable of!

Something even weirder than that happened in that moment though, as for a moment, the Black Sekirei disappeared! Like Saki used to, one moment she was there and the next she was gone. It happened so fast that Haihane doubted her eyes, except well...

She was now naked. 

Words failed to describe the emotions that went through Haihane's mind at the moment. She almost didn't notice when a livid Karasuba sent the mysterious man flying through the window. 

"Nooooo!" Benitsubasa broke out of her arms and staggered forward into a shambling run. Her arms were outstretched as if she was going to catch her presumed Ashikabi, but it was already far too late. She crossed tbe distance quickly even despite her serious injuries. But even with her enhanced speed of a Sekirei, it was an impossible task. Instead, she stopped right in front of the shattered window, unafraid of the dizzying heights or the perilous winds.

Whatever she saw below caused her to drop to her knees and wordlessly begin to sob. 

Haihane shuffled awkwardly, splitting her attention between sympathetically gazing towards her friend and warily eyeing Karasuba. The grey haired psychopath, who at this point remained standing unnaturally still, having not left the spot from where she had thrown the poor soldier from.  

Then with no warning she relaxed. Still nude, Haihane did a double take at the extent of the single digit's injuries. There was a nasty slash that ran from her arm, to the fat of her breast to just above her belly button. it was oozing blood, mingling with the split human ichor below. It was in this mixing that Karasuba seemed to be spending her attention on, staring at her upheld arm specifically at where her lifeboods dripped from it onto the floor. Her other hand held her other side, just over her kidney, where a massive black and purple bruise was slowly becoming visible. 

No one moved for a few tense seconds, the only sounds being the quiet sobs 105 was making over by the shattered window.

"Tch." The elder sekirei broke the silence with a click of her teeth. "You. Come here." Her voice was like ice.

Haihane blinked and pointed to herself. "Me?"

"Now." the older woman's tone brokered no argument. Not eager to die, Haihane made her way  over quickly and presented herself to her psychopathic senpai. Before she could even articulate a question about what is she wanted from her, her hand was snatched. brought to rest on Karasuba's exposed breast, hovering just above the site of the oozing wound.

"Can you feel that? The cloth?" Her team's leader ground out. 

She was confused for a second, before she decided to move her hand. The soft mound of flesh moved as she rolled her hand over it, but it was when she got to the risen nipple that she noticed the queerness. 
"The clothes are still there?" she let go and backed away. 

Karasuba turned away, already seeming to forget about her presence. "I am not crazy." she stated, turning towards the door and striding towards it, seemingly uncaring about her state of nudity. It was only when the sound of something skittering across the floor came that she bent over, her square shaped loincloth just barely still covering her modesty, and retrieved something from the ground before continuing on and out of the ruined cafeteria.  

Left alone Haihane let out a sigh of relief. That situation had escalated out of control very quickly.

Thankfully they had all survived. 

She then remembered her bawling friend and amended her statement. 

'Almost all of us.'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Mass confusion, speechlessness, exasperation, extreme bafflement, all these were words that could be successfully used to describe the atmosphere that had descended in the M.B.I. control room.
They had just rewatched a security recording of the events that had recently unfolded in the cafeteria.

"Can anyone hazard a guess as to what the hell just happened?" Sahashi Takami ground out, a lit cigarette crushed between her fingers. "You!" she whirled to face an elderly man, balding with thick coke bottle glasses and a large hooked nose.

"Derrickson! Was he one of yours?" 

The lab coat wearing man waved his hands in denial. 

"Impossible Sahashi-san, all 'Special Projects' are accounted for. No, no. this was something else." 
The mother of two and administrator of the sekirei plan rubbed her scalp, her prematurely grayed hairs rustling as she did. 

'Seriously, first Minato fails his college entrance exam AGAIN, Yukari gets suspended for fighting and now some super powered freak infiltrates M.B.I.and attacks a single number on the eve of the most elaborate and complex orchestrated events to ever happen in human history.' And now this? I miss Takehito...'  The man was many things, but she didn't doubt that he would of had some interesting ideas on what had just occurred. 

She clapped her hands and moved over to the group of executives she had brought together. The different department heads,  some technicians, a few researchers, the lead adjuster and the TRU commander. 

"Alright people! I know this has had been hard to accept, I hardly believe what I just saw myself, but we need answers." She turned to the only man in uniform at the meeting. "Commander Jin, this person was one of yours, can you share anything about him?" 

The TRU Commander, who's sweaty neck and stilted demeanour marked him as an unwilling participant, still managed to reply. 

"Nobe Sogen, 25 years old, he's been with us for just over a week. Before that he came from a Security Service police precinct. He had uncanny physical abilities and marksmanship. Other than that, completely unremarkable." 

Takami nodded her head and turned to a random tech who was manning one of the data collection systems. 

"Find out everything we can about this Nobe Sogen.I want to know where he's from, family, what brand of toothpaste he uses, everything!" she turned to another scientist, an overweight woman with straight red hair and a blue turtleneck. 

"Sakura-chan, any chance this was a sekirei? Scrapped of otherwise? Maybe another pantheon?" 

The redhead looked as.if she was considering something before shrugging. "We will know for sure when we analyze the blood, but 105 was definitely showing a psychic response to him. If it was a sekirei, that's something never seen among any of the other cohorts."

"Could it be an agent of a foreign power? Some kind of super soldier program?" A small, dark skinned man suggested. 

"Impossible, " Commander Jin dismissed it categorically. "Our intel suggests those programs are decades out from entering clinical trials. It is not possible that something like that would of remained hidden."

"Ma'am, I think you should take a look at this." 

Takami's gaze was briefly diverted over as a new technician approached with an open tablet in hand. Taking it she quickly scanned the contents before gently laying it on the table. "Are these readings right?" She asked simply and the nameless technician spoke hesitantly in reply. 

"Yes. I checked them twice myself." Takami shooed them away with her hand before setting it on her chin.

"What is it?" Dr. Derrickson inquired and around the table the others nodded their heads. Sighing heavily, M.B.I.'s lead scientist and second in command gathered her thoughts. 

"No. 04...has reacted." 

The voices all came at once. 
"What?", "Inconceivable!", "How?", "We need too-", "Good God".

She held up her hand.   

"It is, her core was recorded entering the beta phase approximately ten minutes ago." 

"With all due respect Sahashi-sensei, that is highly unlikely." Mitsuyama Sorai, the lead adjuster, promoted after Takehito's unfortunate passing, spoke up. "

I understand that, but the data shows..." she was cut off as the other man continued. 

"No. 04 is incapable of attachment, her psychological profile is clear. Psychopathic tendencies that make it impossible to form a natural emotional relationship with anyone. It just can't happen. The closest thing to a functioning a relationship she experienced was a respectful rivalry over her desire to kill Yume." 

"Well I don't know what to tell you, but the reaction did occur. I think we can all agree though, that allowing an unknown threat of this magnitude to wing two experimentals and a single digit is unacceptable, correct?" To this everyone murmured there agreement. 

"Two...?" The lead adjuster questioned and Takami sighed.

"104..." The room was silent for a moment as everyone integrated that little tidbit. 'Three?, At once? His compatibility must be off the charts!'  It was known by observation and study of various special cases that different Ashikabi candidates possessed differing amounts of the alien genetic code. Some were more "pure" than others. Of course this effect was also increased the more "powerful" an Ashikabi became, adding more Sekirei cores to the psychic network subsequently decreased the threshold of triggering the reaction in unwinged units. 

It was speculated that whatever the original Ashikabi species had been, that the pur enature of their genetics would of allowed for instantaneous bonding to take place, regardless of the individuals involved or the power levels present. All these thoughts were undoubtedly being considered within the minds of the experts present. 

'Troubling.'  Takami crinkled her eyebrows, it was a problem for sure but...

"Ma'am, though isn't that problem taken care of? I mean, he fell from 42 stories up. I doubt even one of our top of the line models would come out of that intact." The sweater clad woman suggested. 

"That's true, but until we have the body on a slab for vivisection, presume it is not. He also should of died from those the wounds he received. We've all see what 04 can do when she's properly motivated, yes?" Takami reminded them, Karasuba had left a rather gruesome trail of decidedly fatal "accidents" behind her in the past. There was no questioning her lethality. "So assume nothing. Now where is Ichinomi-san?" 

There was a beat of silence before the head of the pharmaceuticals department, a Cantonese man in his 50's named Jun, answered.

"Ichinomi-san was placed in a V.I.P. room on level 60 and has been there since the Security Service retrieved him from the airport."

Ichinomi Natsuo was the hand selected candidate that Takami had picked to become the Ashikabi of the Disciplinary Squad. Everyone agreed the three sekirei were too unpredictable and powerful to remain off the leash, so measures had to be taken to maintain leverage. 

Ichinomi-san had entered M.B.I. as a clerk and had been tested for Ashikabi potential, the same as every new hire. However, during his background check, details had come light that had made him an ideal candidate out of the in house roster of Ashikabi candidates.

Ashikabi, meaning budding plant, were the humans capable of physically and psychically bonding with the Sekirei species through the exchange of DNA, usually through mucosal secretions. A "kiss of destiny" as Takehito had called it. 

Takami didn't believe in such nonsense. The current theory held that Ashikabi were the descendents of interbreeding between other Sekirei pantheons and the local human population. The ship that had crash landed on Kamikura was not the only one. Using historical records and satellite topography M.B.I.'s research division had found 3 others so far, and calculated possible landing sites for 2 others. 

Through the discovery of geological and anthropological evidence, at some point around the classical period, the of alien ships had landed on earth and mad contact with the primitive human race.  Then through a series of unknown events the inhabitants had ended up being deified and worshipped as gods by those ancient societies. Indeed there was evidence to suggest that the Egyptian, Norse, Aztec, Greek and Roman gods were all Sekirei, or at least descended from them. The descendents of those extraterrestial pairings that expressed enough of the genetic legacy to be detectable by modern testing were what were considered "Ashikabi" today.

Ichniomi Natsuo was one such individual. His psychological profile indicated that he was intelligent, lacking in self-motivation and completely incapable of feeling empathy. Or that had been what the notes that his treating psychiatrist had written in his file after he had been interned in a hospital's mental health ward after suffering from a complete breakdown at his previous job. Ths poor man had lost his longtime lover who had worked for "Doctors Without Borders" and had apparently been forced to witness the killing firsthand. This event had broken him and led to a downward spiral in his life that had led to him being committed to a mental health facility for observation. After a time he had been released and had applied for a position at M.B.I. not long after.   
M.B.I. kept a small roster of Ashikabi canidates on payroll for experimentation and scenarios such as this. Contrary to what that fool Takehito had said, or the insufferable No. 8, experimentation had determined that "winging" was possible even without a reaction. The end results were the same regardless of the absence of "destiny" in the equation. 
The panel had determined that Ichinomi-san was an ideal candidate, easily manipulated and pliable enough to go along with any "morally questionable" actions that the Disciplinary Squad might be asked to do.

That decision was solidified when after a heavily supervised meeting between Karasuba and Ichinomi-san, the latter's cooperation being the most important consideration. The other two, 104 and 105, could be easily manipulated and forced into the contract if a reaction did not occur naturally, especially if 04 would assist. 

The Black Sekirei had not killed Ichinomi-san outright, so that had been a good start. What had followed had been a morbid and rather concerning discussion between two absolutely broken individuals reveling im their shared misanthropy and general miserable nature. When she had asked Karasuba what she thought of him as her potential Ashikabi, she had merely shrugged and smiled that infuriating smirk of hers. 

"Maa, maa, he's interesting enough for a monkey."
Which Takami, ignoring the expected complete lack of respect, could only take as a tenative approval. Or at least it was the most positive thought she could remember the violent creature ever expressing about a human. Well, ever since... 

"Has anyone figured out just how an Ashikabi slipped past our testing protocols? That shouldn't of been possible. Our department has a 99% detection rating, lower levels of gene expression that do not register should not be strong enough to trigger a reaction." The head of the xenobiology department asked.

"We don't know." Takami cooly replied, "Either way, send a TRU team to escort Ichinomi-san to the Disciplinary Squad's barracks. The trackers have indicated that the three of them have returned there. Gas the room to ensure compliance." 

"What about Number 04?" The Chief if Security's face was noticeably paled. 

"I will deal with Karasuba. Though, Derrickson, you will give me two of yours. I have no intention of putting my life in the hands of a petulent lunatic." 
The big nosed man nodded and took a thoughtful look. 

"Ah, of course. 213 and 222 have successfully completed the migration from Kamikura and should be fully functional. Though," his glasses caught the lights reflection and lit up like a thousand watt bulb his smile gleeful, "I can't guarantee the integrity of Number 04 afterwards if things get violent."

"Noted. Make sure they're keyed correctly to my profile."

"Of course, Assistant Director." 

"Wait, wait, wait!" The small dark skinned man, Roy Achebe, head of Informatics interjected. "The CEO needs to be notified before ANYTHING from Section Zero is deployed! There are strict protoc-" 

"Minaka is...indisposed." Takami said in a quiet but firm tone after which an awkward period passed before, 

"What do you mean 'indisposed'? Is Hirohoto-sensei not aware of what is going on?" Sakura Higarah, the President of M.B.I. Media Group spome in a hurried voice. The CEO was always eccentric, but for him to be left uninformed of this sort of goings on was unthinkable. 

"He is not to be disturbed. In his absence all authority is transferred to the Executive Officer, which is myself." Takami said in a cold voice that left no room for argument. "Need I remind you the price of insubordination?"

Sakura blanched and shook her head. 

"Good." As M.B.I.'s head scientist, Executive Officer and Administrator of the Sekirei Plan's her word was final."Security, lock down the building. I don't want anything getting in or out of the building! Nothing! Revoke Nobe-san's clearance and access badge!"

"Hai!" 

"Now, let's get t-"

"Ma'am! Nobe Sogen has been spotted in the building!" 

"Where!" Takami grabbed a nearby tablet and pulled up the buildings camera feeds.

The tech shuffled their feet uncomfortably before answering. 

"Uh, he's in the men's restroom. Main Lobby."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

I smiled as I plummeted to my doom.

Is what I would of said if I had been thrown from the 42nd floor and not been a freaky reincarnated entity possessing an unnatural body while experiencing full sensory hallucinations that physically impacted the dream world that I had been projected into. 
In other words, I used an ability to slow my momentum enough that I wasn't turned into tomato paste. 

TALENT: DOUBLE JUMP LVL 2'
"Unbound from the laws of physics, unchained from common sense. Never will you need a step ladder again!
Effect: Propel yourself through the air with equal or lesser force to the original power exerted by your vertical jump.  Can be used twice before needing to touch a solid surface.

I knew I could jump about 15 meters into the air when I pushed myself, so instead I imagined a little hop. 

A puff of air originated magically under my feet and I effectively stopped in mid-air. The direction I went was completely controllable. I could of launched myself straight down, not that that would of been productive here. I began to fall, again. I was only twenty or so meters from the ground at this point and heading directly towards the park that surrounded the behemoth footprint of Teito Tower.

Passing through the canopy, I ignored the branches and leaves as they tore at my battered and bruised body of before firing off another jump to bleed off the remainder of my speed. I landed in a crouch. 

Then fell in my face. 

I felt like death. I had severely underestimated Karasuba and I had paid for it. It was a miracle that I was still alive.

'M.B.I. will be looking for me now, they'll be at my apartment, taking away my clearances. Wait, will they go after Mom, Emiru?' I berated myself for being so shortsighted. I had assumed that I would become part of the "plan" once I winged a sekirei. And gain whatever protections that entailed. It was a dumb idea that was a naive, taking for granted the fact that I could in fact achieve a winging. But it didn't matter now. 

I failed. Painfully, I rolled over onto my back. The thick ceiling of oak leaves rustled in the wind. It was uncannily quiet. For a moment I could imagine I was back in the slash pine forests of my original home. A place that I had spent countless days playing as a child and later countless hours hunting in as an adult. Perhaps jaded by my current major setback, I felt a wave of nostalgia begin creeping in before I ruthlessly crushed it.

'Not the time!' 

This WAS my life now. And I WAS Nobe Sogen,  Nobe Sogen, who was an reincarnated nobody gifted a random chance to live anew. A Nobe Sogen who had just blown the chance to do something that he had been pining for for over two decades! 

I thought of beautiful crimson eyes, staring at me with all the desire and the feeling of pure undiluted love being offered freely. A feeling that I had never known I wanted until that moment! Something that would of been impossible to have experienced back in the doldrums of my first earthly existence. I was given a chance to achieve that and what?

I knew now. This wasn't my first life or even a continuation of it, but I had been treating it like it was! Blending in as best I could, not taking too many risks. Planning, scheming, waiting. And what did that get me? 

'You're still alive...' 

I had forgotten that this was a game. Like all games it had its rules. But only one thing mattered. 

Victory.

To fight, to grab victory no matter what the cost! 
A light breeze blew across my face. My back felt gross, soaked in blood and dirt. My shattered hand throbbed painfully.

Fear had stopped me from doing more. Fear for my life, fear for my family, fear of being found out, fear of being regarded as a monster... I had let that fear stop me from risking more in the dungeons, from taking what I wanted. It wasn't enough to find courage in the face of an immediate threat, I would have to find courage in face of all the things that still held me back. 

What was this life if I didn't have the courage to take what I wanted?

The first thing that I had experienced in this world was the assigning of my first and only long term quest. Maybe that was my reason for being here.  
Win what? It really didn't matter anymore. I couldn't pretend to know what that entailed and I would have to assign my own meaning to it. The machinations of some omnipresent force were not really my concern.

At least not right now. 

My thoughts were a mess of contradictions and warring motivations. I needed to focus on what was important.

I had to be better, take more risks, live this life to it's fullest. . 

"Bzzzzt" My cellphone, miraculously intact, vibrated in my pocket and I fished it out. The app that I used to read my burner email account had a new message to display. 

"missRedDD has replied to your personal ad, click here to see what she said!"  I managed to get a grin on my face though it quickly morphed into a pained wince.

Looks like I had a pervert to catfish, but first...

It was time to play catch up. 

I would have what was mine and R.O.B. help anyone that got in my way.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Security Consultant Yizawa Riu, nervously shifted his ill fitting kevlar helmet on his head. The stupid thing kept sliding down, blocking his rifle's sights. The Howa Type-20 he nervously in front of him had a top of the line holographic sight, muzzle brake and infrared lazer/flashlight combo, but was all worthless if you couldn't see a damn thing. 

"What do you think this guy did?" His friend Renji asked. The two them were with a group of 25 or so security personnel that had converged on the ground floor lobby's men's restroom. 

"I don't know but he must of pissed someone off, the TRU section is apparently on the way down as well." Riu shoved his helmet back yet again and stretched his knees. Most of the group had settled behind some planters and concrete benches, finding cover where they could. 

"Well I mean is all that actually necessary? I know he attacked someone on the way in, but talk about overkill." 

"Well it wasn't just this, the section leader was saying something about a fight upstairs, apparently this guy is on the TRU himself." 

"You serious?" his friend asked, panicking slightly.

"Yup" Riu supplied and wiped his sweaty forehead with the back of his glove. "Maybe he went postal or something. You know, snapped."

"I don't care what he did. We just need to get out of this alive! Apparently he's armed too. Lifted a gun off of one of the other officers." 

"Well look here now, Mandai-san is gonna use the megaphone again." Riuu noted as their section leader pulled out a megaphone and barked at the bathroom door, telling this guy Nobe-san to surrender and that nobody had to get hurt.    

"What the hell is he doing in there anyways?" his friend asked as the section leader finished his spiel. 
Riu shrugged.

"Taking a piss?" 

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

A few minutes earlier I had traipsed through the front doors of Teito Tower. Almost immediately I noticed an armed security guard approaching me, hand on his pistol. 

"Halt! Nobe Sogen, you are un-" The older gentleman didn't get a chance to finish that though before my fist lashed out and I backhanded him off his feet. Snatching his ear piece and radio off his vest before he hit the ground, I inventoried his service pistol and magazines as well. 

Waste not, want not after all. 

I made a beeline for the restroom, pulling out a Glock 40 and firing a few random shots into the ceiling. It had the intended effect. Immediately all the civilians in the lobby scattered, running willy nilly toward whatever exits they could find.

'Less casualties hopefully.' I numbly thought as I entered the restroom. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, fully healed but still in blood covered and shredded clothes. "Alright, time to get to work." I stated. I heard noise and turned to find a middle aged salary man in the middle of washing his hands staring at me with a gormless expression. 

I grinned at him and threw a thumb over my shoulder.

The other hand still held the Glock. 

"Take the rest of the day off old guy, shits about to get wild." With a shriek he ran out, forgetting his briefcase and cufflinks behind. "Heh."

"Dungeon Create"

I stepped into the portal, the familiar menu popped into being and I selected the next available level. The one titled "Human Revolution". 

The frozen world beyond the menu grayed out and I felt those particular sensations unique to the teleportation power.

With a flash I reappeared, knee deep in mud, the sound of detonating artillery and gunfire mixing together in a long ago familiar melody. I deftly pulled my legs free and assessed my surroundings. I was in trench, undoubtedly part of a larger series of interconnected defenses. Overhead I could see tracers whiz by, shouting audible in the brief pause between fusillades. 

'Alright, first things first.' I grabbed a bandage and a pre-manufactured foam splint from my inventory. Quickly I wrapped it around my broken fingers, tying it with a strip of bandages. 

"Bone Set: Broken Bone Status Removed"

I grunted as my bones moved back into position, the fractures healing themselves with the power of cheese!

Fixed up and gripping my borrowed pistol anew, I advanced boldly and it wasn't so long until I identified what sounded like human voices coming from around a the next trench corner, though I didn't recognize the specific language. Breathing in once, I activated my abilities and turned the corner. There crouching around a burn barrel were my first targets. 

Sallow faced men wearing futuristic looking body armor and furred hats. They reacted well enough, pointing their guns at me as soon as they managed to register my sudden appearance. However, it wasn't competent enough, as I plugged one in the throat with my glock and body slammed the other into the reinforced trench wall. Not pausing, I pushed his rifle aside, which he managed to fire pointlessly into the sky. Then with a swift chop, I crushed his throat and ended his life. Holding the rifle, I inspected it for any apparent damage and then stowed it with the other weapons in my inventory.  I grabbed two stick grenades, a first aide kit and a monstrously sized trench knife.

I spared one glance at the mangled human remains. I shook my head, repressing the urge to feel sick.

'Better get used to it."  There would be more coming later, much more. 

"New Item Added: Minor Stamina Potion." 

Well that was convenient. I didn't know there were other kinds. Making sure I had everything, I proceeded further into the trench network. Now that I was closing in, I could hear the sounds of screaming, explosions and gunfire much more clearly. 
I carefully poked my head above the trench.  

It was foggy, but I could make out tracers flying back and forth. For a mere instant I thought I saw something flitting in the smoke, bone white and red. But it faded just as fast, a ghost. 

'The front lines must be that way.' I could however see over to the next section after the bend in front of me. Around 20 soldiers sat in various states of undress, washing clothes, eating, cleaning weapons, joking or gazing longingly off into space. 

I felt sick again. I hoped, prayed that all of this fake, a temporary creation of the game system. This still didn't feel good at all though. This was not self defense and I couldn't pacify my conscience by rationalizing it as such. Unlike the others so far, these enemies were not actively seeking me out. They were also, you know human, compared to the undead or giant rat monsters. 

'But...'

Each one of those kills had netted me 200xp. 
The group in front of me... the harvest would be immense. Over two levels if my calculations were correct.

'I can't afford to hesitate. Not anymore.' I prepped the two stick grenades, pulling on the first of the safeties, a little wire clip, off. Then I rematerialized one of the assault rifles I had store away and three spare magazines, I put two in my waistband and held the onto the last in my off hand. Finally I attached my newly acquired sheathed trench knife to my belt. 

I took a breath to steady my nerves.

I crouched at the bend. Nobody had moved to investigate the gunfire that had come from behind their position.

'Go.'

I pulled the pin on the first grenade and released the spoon. I counted to two and tossed, followed just as quickly with the second. I trusted my journeyman skill in Explosives to see me through. The shouts and screams were indications enough that I succeeded with my aim. I didn't know what language they were shouting in, I didn't want to know.

Instead of pie-ing the corner like I would of if I were a normal sane rational person, actually if I were sane I wouldn't be in this situation to begin with, I flexed my legs and jumped out of the trench. In a blink of an eye I cleared the top and could see the entire battlefield clearly. There were hundreds of meters of trenches to clear and that wasn't even counting whatever laid on the other side of no man's land. I came to the top of my arc just as the first grenade exploded. I felt the pressure wave and a notification appeared telling of a new skill created for Explosion Resistance. Hand grenades usually had a kill radius of about 5 meters. Inside a confined trench though...

The second grenade exploded and I felt a small pain in my legs. I ignored it and began firing with the rifle. I had activated Entrenchment anyways, so I wasn't too concerned.   

Still flying through the air I peppered the survivors with heavy rifle rounds, noting that the rounds were less effective against the heavy body armor some wore. Noting this, I switch to targeting heads and limbs. 

I hit the trench and rushed, Flurry, Momentum and Battle Rhythm already active. I landed on the bloody floor of the trench and burst forward, firing at the remaining men that had been furthest away from the blast. A few shots returned my way, but following Battle Rhythm's advice I deftly avoid them. The rounds that were fired at me were a mix of the what appeared to be lasers and standard bullets. I wove between them, letting Entrenchment absorb the ones that I failed to avoid. One by one their numbers lessened, until I was well within melee range. The last five soldiers drew various melee weapons and charged. I fired, but the rifle was grabbed, my attacker getting a perforated face for his troubles. I dodged a spiked cudgel, drew my trench knife and sliced upward. The arm separated off the trunk and my opponent screamed, drawing it back and waving the severed limb in despair. Blood spurted all over my chest and arms, so I reversed the swing and put an end to his suffering. The last three eyed me warily, muttering in their unknown tongues.

One particularly large specimen, with what looked like the stripes of a sergeant and wielding a pistol, prodded the smaller of the two forward. The man turned to say something but his comrade prodded him in the back with the barrel of the pistol. Why he didn't just shoot at me instead was a mystery, but the display of cowardice irked me. Finally the smaller man nodded hesitantly and squeezed his entrenching tool before dashing forward. 

'Let's try something.'    

I hopped a few inches in the air and activated Double Jump. Using as much "power" as possible, I pictured in my mind where I wanted to end up. 

With a puff of displaced air, I was projected over the three men's heads I slashed at one as I passed, foot striking the other in the head. The Sgt. collapsed like a house of card, a massive chunk missing from his Furry cap and skull underneath, the other man that had remained behind was thrown violently into the trench's wall, neck bent at an unnatural angle.
I landed gracefully and turned back to face the man I had leapt over. He had turned around after hearing the commotion behind him. Flinching in surprise, he said something that could only of been a curse. Seeing that I didn't immediately move to attack he slowly crouched and dropped the e-tool on the ground. Hands pointing up, he slowly rose again, his intention to surrender clear. 

I drooped my shoulders. 

'Really?' I knew from prior experience that the stage wouldn't clear until all enemies were eliminated. Neither would I be able to gain any experience unless the dungeon was cleared. This was the first time I had fought against a dungeon dweller that hadn't just mindlessly attacked. Despite my newfound resolve, I hesitated, fingers drumming against my thigh. I watched as the other man gave me once over, noting that I wasn't holding any weapons besides the knife. I was going to have to kill everyone to gain anything from this. And I would.

'So what does that say about me?' 

The surrendering soldier's eyes flicked to his right, to one of the laser rifles resting on the ground just a foot or so away.  

Quickdraw was a job skill from the Soldier tree that allowed me to move at times two my DEX while unholstering a weapon.

The soldier dropped boneless-ly to join his comrades before he could move more than an inch. I looked at the laser pistol in my hand. 

'Laspistol.' I corrected myself. Sure enough, a golden double headed eagle stared back at me, eyes appearing fiery as if it could sense the stink of xenos around me. 

So I was killing PDF or Imperial Guardsmen now? Did that mean I had been transported to whatever universe Warhammer 40k existed in? Or was this simulation just emulating that setting. I desperately hoped it was the latter. 

Not that it mattered anyways at this point. I collected all the still functioning weapons, magazines, explosives, Observing of them to discern their purposes and testing their functionality. I had never really thought about bringing non-drop items back. Would it work?

I allocated my points in DEX and PER. I also checked the notifications for anything I had missed. 
I had earned a skill point in the Soldier job tree, which I used to unlock a new ability.  

Passive Ability: For Crown and Country
Some things are worth fighting for, even if the flesh is weak. Give up your limitations and keep going!
Effect: Allows the player to ignore the effects of blood loss and injuries on still attached intact body parts, allowing normal use. Does not eliminate pain or psychological effects. 

It wasn't Gamer's Body but it was close. Maybe this was the actual test to progress in this game? Were you willing to put aside your morals and murder? 
It wasn't even that hard. I guess fighting a superhuman opponent had put some things in perspective. Levels weren't everything unless the difference was as great as between myself and Karasuba. Even then, I had crossed that divide more than once and marked her. 

I remembered my father so long ago talking about how having great power meant you were to be constantly tempted by it. Instead I had become too frightened to use it to its fullest potential. Was that the lesson here? To not worry myself with the moral implications of my actions as long as it furthered the objectives set before me? 

That is, if there was any reason behind anything that was happening to me.

Finishing up, I looked at the next section of trench. I shook my head, instead leaping up onto the surface. Fully exposed, I trusted in my abilities and rushed toward the next location that I could see being occupied.

Bullets and lasbolts passed me by, the last engagement loud enough to alert the others, but thanks to Entrenchment and Battle Rhythm, my progress was unimpeded.

Unlike last time, there was already a battle raging when I leapt into the next section of trench. 

About a platoon's worth of Imperial Guardsmen fought a losing close quarters battle in the confines of the narrow fortifications. Bayonets and crude daggers against razor sharp bone white daggers and masterfully crafted power swords. It was a massacre in progress and without my intervention, it would of been one that ended post haste. 

Firing a burst of lasbolts into the melee, I soon came face to face with the newly revealed enemy force. Taller than I was by about half a foot, it was hard to misidentify the life form that was currently in the process gutting a screaming human soldier with a swipe of their bone like weapon. Conical green helmet with red highlights,  form fitting ceramic like armor plates that were adorned with glowing runes and few gaudy gemstones, the Eldar Guardian turned to regard me after clinically removing their blade from their latest victim. A sleek looking rifle dangled from it's grip, off handed while it has been engaged with its knife. The two white rods protruding from the armored suit's back turned to face me as it noticed the new arrival. The alien cocked it's head curiously for a moment before it burst into a sprint, it's decision to regard me as a threat clearly being made. 

It was faster by a fair margin than a human would of been and despite being taken unawares it's movements were fluid and graceful, with almost no hesitation. It closed the distance between us quickly, knife held at the ready.

The laspistol snapped up and Bullet Time activated. The alien's charge slowed to a crawl, moving at about the same speed as a leisurely summer stroll. Three shots. First, the armored knee, tearing the joint apart and sending the warrior into a telegraphed stumble, falling to the side in slow motion, the ability of proper locomotion stripped. Second shot, partially deflected at center mass by the wraithbone chest plate, the momentum behind the lasbolt still pushing the torso to the side. Final shot, square in the helmet, punching through the armor between the eye lenses, killing the Guardian and throwing it into a somersault. 

I idly noted that the alien was worth a little more than the amount of XP that the humans gave. I guess life was equal in the eyes of the Game 

Bullet Time ended as I lowered the sights, throwing myself to the side to avoid the incoming barrage of shuriken rounds, the alien soldiers quicker on the uptake than my fellow humans had been. The tiny razor sharp discs moved at super sonic speeds, peppering the trench wall behind where I had been standing moments before. 

I recovered into a somersault, springing off the ground and regaining my footing just in time to engage another Eldar. This one was equipped with a power sword, brandishing it with a skill that had probably taken centuries to aquire. I understood that these Guardians were essentially Eldar militia, drawn from the civilian population during times of war. That didn't lessen the obvious finesse that this particular enemy employed while attempting to separate my head from my shoulders. The glowing blade hummed as it passed mere inches above my head, the smell of ozone left in its wake as it whizzed by. I was not interested in finding out what would happen if that blade managed to touch my body, so I activated Flurry and One Inch Death Punch in preparation for what came next.

Instead of trading blows, my fingers speared out like a striking serpent, immobilizing the sword bearing arm in my hand and grabbing a hold of the bigger fighter at the the neck. With a mighty tug, I tore the offending limb entirely out of the socket, like a smoked turkey leg separated from the carcass at Thanksgiving dinner.

Terribly wounded the alien staggered away to escape but they didn't get far.  I swung the power sword, with the severed hand still gripped around the activation rune, and decapitated it with a single spinning strike, returning the favor that it had tried to gift me with moments ago. I crouched, my spin ending with myself on one knee, finishing the movement before my foes corpse even touched the ground.

My eyes flickered about and counted four alien warriors still standing, two looking my way and the other two finishing off the last of the remaining Guard. Their body languages spoke of surprise, but that wasn't saying anything. I was no xenobiologist. I had no interest in studying anything right now. 

Just killing. 

The one nearest to me reacted quickest, their armor more lavishly decorated than the others. A leader of some kind, it shouted something in a singsong language, gaining the attention of its nearby ally.

'Remember what you're fighting for.' 

Still kneeling, a heavy weight materialized instantaneously in my hands, calles from the depths of my inventory. It was an unwieldy handful, though to my supercharged muscles it felt like next to nothing. A short barreled monstrosity of a weapon with a golden Aquila engraved above the trigger. Rounds the length of a pencil and the width of a fat Cuban cigar dangled from a belt that fed into the magazine pawls of the machine's upper receiver. Two blast shields framed the stubby nose, undoubted festooned with even more Imperial heraldry. 

The Eldar froze, the sudden appearance of such a high threat weapon throwing whatever alien discipline they possessed out the window. It was only for a moment, but enough for me to rack the heavy bolt back and flick off the safety. 

"Rajear n-!" Whatever the alien was shouting was cut short by the tremendous report coming from the Heavy Bolter's muzzle. The high velocity armor piercing round yanked the xeno off its feet and threw it through the air a split second before the round's secondary charge detonated, turning the alien warrior's entire upper torso into a fine mist and painting it's comrade's armor red. The blast itself had staggered the woman, who didn't even have time to process what happened before the next round bisected her in half, sending her torso flying into the air like a tank who's turret had cooked off. 

I shifted the barrel right, full auto rounds sinking into the ground and detonating with muffled "Crumps". The recoil was immense, but again nothing I couldn't handle. Seeing their fellows die, the remaining two aliens dove to the ground, scrabbling on their bellies in a vain attempt to seek cover. But no matter where they sought to hide, my rounds found them anyways. With my level three Dead Eye active, I could perceive the exact spot that the bullets would strike, making missing almost an impossibility.  

They screamed as they died, rounds bursting all around them, perforating their bodies with innumerable pieces of shrapnel. Targets neutralized, I turned the muzzle onto the few remaining standing Guardsmen, cutting them down mercilessly like all the rest.

"CLICK!" 

The Bolter's bolt locked forward, empty. The red hot barrel sizzled in the drizzling rain that had been falling since I arrived.

The trigger stayed depressed. 

It took a few moments before my brain caught up with the fact that my trigger finger was no longer required. When it had, the heavy bolter fell out of my limp hands to the muddy ground with a thud. My ears were ringing, but my eyes worked fine, taking in the absolute destruction that I had wrecked on the area around me. 

Chunks of unidentifiable flesh were strewn around the area. Alien and human corpses laid side by side, rendered unrecognizable by the explosives used in their execution. Blood ran from the opened veins of many, running to the floor of the trench, mixing with the rain and turning the floor into a muddy red mess. The smell of death was thick and I gagged as I perceived the utterly foul scent clearly for the first time.

Slowly my hearing returned. It seemed that a lull in the surrounding battle had occurred during the last few minutes, leaving the gentle pattering of rain and the piteous cries of the wounded the only sounds left in the trench. 

I felt dizzy. Here in this charnel house of my own creation, I was being tested. My breaths came out ragged, despite the fact that I wasn't fatigued. The moans continued and I didn't want to think about what would come next.

'Clear the level.' 

I focused on the memory of crimson eyes, filled with hope. There were things worth fighting for. Worth killing for. Worth murdering for?

'It's just a game, it's just a game, it's just a game...'  I repeated to myself. It had to be. Something weakly squeezed my ankle and I looked down, fear and disgust I'm sure written all over my face. 

Young, early to late teens, a Guardsman gripped my blood soaked pants, pulling his mangled body forward along the ground. His pale face stared up at me blankly, too far gone to even know who it was he sought comfort from. 

"Adiuva me, quaeso, mater, quaeso." His voice was a whisper, blood leaked from the corner of his mouth, I could see that his legs were shredded, no doubt the handiwork of my murderous bolter rampage. 
I raised my head to the sky, letting the rain drops impact my face. 

'I will not be stopped here!' A laspistol found it's way into my hand and I gripped the pistol grip until my nails bled. All around me the wounded cried, their distinct languages bleeding together in an accusatory dirge.

I suddenly felt like crying. 

Not far away, I slowly began to hear the shouts of more combatants getting slowly closer, no doubt searching for survivors. Sighing, I flipped the safety off the pistol and steeled my heart.

'No matter the cost.'

What felt like hours later, I collapsed onto a bench located outside of one of the forward command bunkers that I had cleared. Some enterprising soldier had dug the little seat out, on the side of which a crudely drawn dick was drawn. Even the crass graffiti didn't get a rise out of me. 

I felt numb.

I had fought through trenches, underground barracks, reinforced strong points and even cleared out a series of mortar emplacements.

Finally the guns had fallen silent and in the end I had slaughtered over a hundred enemies today.   

'People. Maybe, I don't know.'

Officers, enlisted, aliens, even a god-damned Commissar (Silly hat and all), I had only paused long enough to loot the bodies and down potions before moving on to the next blood bath. I had slit throats, shot, strangled and bludgeoned my way through any resistance, leaving nothing but death in my wake.

And what did I have to show for it?

I had leveled up 9 times. More than I had in the past ten years combined. 

Though I had not received a new talent yet, I was confident that I would once I left this place.
Why were the rewards of this dungeon so much greater than the ones that came before? Was it the moral cost? Why were there so many more enemies to deal with?
Was it worth it?
'YES!' I felt horrible, but I deep inside myself, where I never dared to tread, I knew it was true. When I returned to the real world and when I won, I knew it was because of this that I would be able to do so. At any cost I had said. 

One of the guardsmen I had dispatched lay at the base of the bench, a box with a familiar shape poking out of his sleeve. Reaching over, I pulled the box out and flipped the lid. It was, as I expected, cigarettes. 

"You don't mind, do you?" I asked the corpse. When he inevitably failed to reply, I took one and lit it with the lighter that was also hidden inside the pack. 

"Menu"  

       
"Name: Nobe Sogen 
Level: 38 (1250/3800)
Title: Reincarnate
Race: Human-Ashikabi Hybrid
Age: 25
Karma:  -328

HP: 41,580
SP: 29,452

>STR: 25 
>CON: 22
>STA: 19
>DEX: 23
>INT: 14
>WIS: 14
>PER: 21"

I was much, much stronger than I had been this morning, I could feel it in the subtle movements my body made, in the flex and swell of my newly improved musculature.

I had also leveled up Double Jump, which now allowed for up to three movements. Leveled up other skills too. 

I ignored the negative karma score. Guess according to whatever governed it, I was more of a monster than even Karasuba now. 

I scoffed. 'Whatever...' This sense of emotional numbness, I knew it intimately. It would fade if I pushed through it. The nightmares would come later regardless of how I dealt with it now. The anxiety, the mood swings, the anger. The guilt. I had been through it before. It didn't matter if it was real or not, it was real enough.

Either way, I would survive, as long as I had something worth living for. 

And I had plenty of that.

The taste of the alien tobacco equivalent was strange, but it still satisfied the sudden cravings I found myself with. It also helped pass the time as I sat and waited for the boss to reveal themselves. 
A minute passed, then ten. I had finished my smoke and was inspecting my brand new chain sword and bolt gun combo, comparing them against the Eldar power sword from earlier 

Anything to keep my mind off the gallons of dried bodily fluids that pretty much covered every inch of my body. 

39 minutes had gone by when I came to a decision. 

"Time for a walk." I stood up from the bench and walked to the edge of the trench, peering out into the open field beyond. I felt better. Whatever shell shock I was suffering from, it had receded. I knew it wasn't the end of it, the emotional roller coaster I had just put myself through would have to be paid for somehow, just later. For now though, I could kick the can down the road, setting up a mental distinction between the past few hours and "reality". I had my reasons to fight.

Without too much thought, I hopped up onto the higher ground. 

I had activated Battle Rhythm and Entrenchment just in case, but as I took the first few tenative steps, nobody reached out to touch me. Just a few dozen meters ahead a massive wall of fog marked an opaque border of sorts. I hadn't really noticed it before, in fact, I could of sworn it wasn't there when I last looked. 

'Game fucking with me again.' I walked carefully to the edge and then pushed on through, head on a swivel as the mists, smoke, whatever it was, enveloped me. There was no smell, so I doubted it was smoke and it was dry, so it couldn't be fog.

'Psychic Shenanigans? It is 40k after all.'  Thankfully I had yet to feel a third arm start growing out of my back. Hopefully it stayed that way. The curtain of mist thickened. It was hard to see more than a meter ahead. I sped up, just a little. 'I really hope they didn't mine the area. '

Trapped with nothing to occupy myself with besides my own thoughts, my mind started to go wild with speculation. 'What do you have next for me? Necrons? Orks? Daemons?  More Eldar? Please, please let it be Tau!'' I lamely joked, darkly amused by the thought of putting a beatdown on some blue space smurfs. 'Maybe all of the above?' I forced myself to make the jokes, to take this lightly. The absurdity of the situation help with easing me into that. 

Soon enough during my aimless wandering the mists went from 'pea soup' to 'backstage at a reggae concert.' Then from one step to the next, it was simply gone. I looked back, the wall was still there, just behind me instead of ahead. 

And ahead of me now was what I could only describe as utter desolation. Impact crators, of a magnitude larger than the mortars I had dispatched were capable of creating, littered the landscape. Scorch marks were blasted into almost every surface. Unidentifiable war machines and the charred remains of corpses, human and Eldar alike were scattered about almost everywhere. It was obvious that a massive battle had happened here, with no side winning decisively. 

And the trash! I kicked a can of half eaten rations and it clattered against at least eight of its discarded fellows. Seriously, It was like someone had backed the world's largest garbage truck up and went bed up! That was one of the things people never realized about war, war was messy. From the treatment of sewage, to the pollution by toxic arms and the generation of refuse. The land always suffered, almost as much as the innocent. The conscripts, the civilians, the soldiers who were led to the slaughter. Fighting for another's goals and aspirations, I had long ago given up on that, the situation that was my existence was an anathema to that concept. Even my seeking of revenge for my father was purely selfish in the end. 

Looking out into the distance, I saw that the ring of Mist extended around the entire massive clearing, bordering the entire area. A kilometer by kilometer section of blasted plains that existed all on its own, separate of the rest of this twisted realm. 

A wan sun hovered lifelessly overhead, the heat from it not seeming to reach the ground. The air was dry and stale with no breeze, dead. It wasn't hot, yet nor was it cold. It was unsettling to be quite honest. 
I still didn't see my expected opponent, which was concerning. Squinting, I held my hand over my eyes to shield them from the hazy rays and swept my vision over the wretched vista, searching. 

'There!' Something red and stark white stood out in the otherwise drab and bleak hellscape.  It was a good ways off, so I began jogging towards it at a steady Eventually I grew frustrated with the slow going and began to leap over the blast craters, bounding from place to place like an astronaut on the moon, using Double Jump to maneuver  my leaps. 
'Or is it  "triple jump" now?'

The closer I got, the more details I was able to discern.  A burnt out husk of a tank, it's turret rotated 90's degrees and popped out of the ruptured hull, the paint and whatever decals it had once possessed unrecognizable.

Though it wasn't the Leman Russ that interested me, but rather what was sitting on it. 

Bone white armor sections covered almost the entirety of it's form. Encrusted with red jewels of various sizes, tassels and runes. Much like the similar armor I had seen worn earlier it was ornate to the point of being ostentatiously obnoxious, only even more so. A tabard and red cloth belt was cinched around the figure's thin waist, a large purple and green rune intricately woven on it. 

Upon my approach, the figure tilted it's head slightly regarding my approach with something akin to interest, but soon looked away and continued staring off into the hazy sky.

"Ah, hey there knife ears. Are we going to do this or not?" I announced my presence, though the other being did not stir. 

"Observe"

"Name: Eristyth Ae'tochal
Level: 40
Title: Kin-Slayer
Race: Aeldari
Age: 119
Karma: 50
Threat Level: Moderate
Affiliation: Craftworld Il-Kaithe, Howling Banshee Aspect Shrine
Emotional State: Existential Dread

HP: 27,000
SP: 60,000

>STR: 18
>CON: 15
>STA: 20
>DEX: 30
>INT: 15
>WIS: 12
>PER: 30"     

'Wait, they have names? Did they all...no, enough." 
My stomach twisted as I started to feel the implications of that. Just what were the enemies I fought here? What was their nature? I hadn't even bothered to observe any of the human or alien soldiers I had killed. 

'That title though, oof.'

The Eldar warrior shifted their position slightly,  one leg bent while the other one dangled over the edge of the ruined equipment. The dangling leg swung back and forth lazily. Unlike the Guardians earlier, it was not wearing a helmet. 

She, and it was certainly a she, had the stereotypical bright auburn colored hair that featured in so many lusty fan creations. In this case said hair was braided into an intricately detailed ponytail, that was tied by bright red cord into a upward facing top knot that flowed down her back. Her face was stern yet beautiful, in an exotic and well, alien way. A pair of almond shaped eyes under a thin line of ginger colored eyebrows, both colored bright sky blue that put mine to shame and a pointed nose that was a tad bit upturned at the tip. A pair of sneering doll like lips completed the picture.

And of course the source of my earlier insult, the elongated and pointed ears. They stuck out and to the rear and looked extremely delicate. The iconic Howling Banshee helmet sat discarded next to her laying on the hull of the tank, it's menacing red lenses and sonic weaponry thankfully silent. 

Still though, my Sekirei were prettier. 

' "My" sekirei? Eggs before hatching, and all that Sogen.' I chastised myself, I still had a job to do here after all. Though it was a close call. Really it was a different kind of beauty. I reached the bottom of the Russ, mere feet away from what I assumed to be my final enemy and craned my head up.

"Seriously, I don't want to sucker punch you, but I will. Can we hurry this up? I have things to do." The alien warrior tilted her head back and fixed me with a disgusted glare, her black rubber-like undersuit's ribbed collar looking like a fat slug was in the process of devouring her from the neck up. Pure contempt with a just a hint of hopelessness soured her otherwise pretty visage. Seeing as her "Emotional Status" was "existential dread", I'm guessing it was my presence that was invoking the former. I guess she was pissy that a mere human had dared to sully her isolation. "Look are we going to fight or what?"

No response.

I looked around, suddenly realizing the obvious, "You have no idea what I'm saying do you?" I decided on taking a more direct approach. Unsheathing the looted trench knife I directed it at her and made a few admittedly goofy looking chopping motions. If I hadn't understood what the other humans had said, the chance of a space elf understanding me were even slimmer. Thankfully the language of violence was damn near universal, so she should get the point. 

"What are you doing, mon'keigh?'" 

I dropped the knife back down to my side in in surprise.

'What hell is this?' I was taken back by a melodic and beautiful voice being projected directly into my mind.

"What do you mean...wait you can understand me?"  

"Yes, mon'keigh. Though one would think the stating of the obvious would be considered wasteful by your short-lived kind." she turned back to stare at the hazy sun that sat unmoving in the sky.    

"So are you reading my mind or something? Some Eldar witch trickery?" I asked. I didn't really like the thought of anything poking around my noggin. That had been a sore subject ever since waking up in this world without Gamer's Mind. I'd say it was a rational fear, especially in this context. Eldar were canonically tricky individuals and not at all above lying and exploiting the "lesser races" to further their ends. A billion human lives for one of the Aeldari I recall hearing. 'Not that you're any better...'

"No, and thank Isha for that. You mon'keigh are base beasts. I would rather not." Her upper lip curled as if the thought alone disgusted her, though that expression did not last long, as if she hadn't the energy to even  keep up the offense. She wasn't wrong though, my primitive lizard brain briefly wondered the face she would make when I nibbled on those ears... "What do you want mon'keigh?'  Her mental voice sounded tired and forlorn. I shook my head to clear my suddenly lecherous thoughts. 

"Fight me." I bluntly requested though in response she shot me an incredulous look that I hastily sought to address, throwing up my hands to gesture to her and myself, "You're an Eldar, I'm a human, it's what we do, right?" 

The Eldar warrior stared at me for a good long while, before groaning and looking away, lowering herself to lay on her side, head supported by her arm, "Now am I burdened with an insane mon'keigh. The Crone has cursed me again!"  She closed her eyes threw back her head and let out a single barking laugh, "No, human. I do not wish to fight. There is no point, we are lost here " 

A dungeon boss that didn't want to fight? What the hell was I supposed to do with that? Maybe a provocation?

"You know you are the third beautiful alien woman to have called me a monkey today. I'm starting to think that this is just some xeno mating courtship or something..." I smirked, hoping for a violent outburst.
The Banshee looked at me like I had just pissed on her carpet. Open mouthed, she gaped like a fish for a moment before returning to her natural neutral sneer. Though I had to give her credit, she had quickly schooled herself, dropping back into the fixed expression. Though, other than that she didn't do much. 

"Well, that didn't work, let's try something else." I rubbed my fingers on my chin, thinking. The two of us sat there for a long period of time, me thinking of a way to resolve this, her staring off into space. Eventually I decided on, "Your war mask seems pretty weak. I'm going to guess you just joined your Aspect Shrine." I looked at her age. I know that Eldar lived long lives and aged slower, so I made an educated guess. "This is your... second path?"  

She grit her teeth, though I could see some amount of curiosity begin to seep in as she leaned forward again.

'Why am I bothering with this? I could just kill her now. I should kill her now. I have things to do. Benitsubasa is waiting for me. Why am I, procrastinating?' I knew that time would stay still no matter how long I spent in the dungeon. Maybe this was "making up" for all the blood I just spilled? I didn't feel like jumping straight to bloodshed, again.

I just needed some time to come to grips with what I had just done. Process it all. I had to admit that talking to someone who wasn't trying to kill me on sight was kind of nice.

Plus come on, talking to a hot Eldar babe? It was every Warhammer 40k nerds wet dream! Well, at least if their weren't any Sisters of Battle available. Ooh, I would of taken a Tau Earth Caste cutie even!

See, I was already in a better mood! Although...

Then it was also unfortunate that just by being able to have this kind of conversation with the supposed dungeon "boss" was kind of throwing water on the whole "just a game" theory. 

"You know more than your kind should." she continued sitting up up and looking me up and down, "You stink as usual though." Her nose wrinkled and I laughed. 

"Sorry, I just got done wiping out an entire garrison. I beg your pardon for my disheveled appearance." I bowed mockingly.

"That was you, truly?" her eyes widened slightly again, before dimming once more. "I felt the lights at the edge of my perception go out...though they were already dim...it is hard to feel anything here, I knew not what they were, only that they had vanished." The contemplative lines of thoughts faded quickly and she slipped back into a morose expression.
I decided to test her assurance of no mind reading. 

'Eldrad Ulthran died like a little bitch and the Aeldari deserved the buttfucking Slannesh gave them.' I "thought" that as loud as I could and watched her face, throwing in some thought generated Rule 34 Eldar/Space Marine art for good measure. 

No reaction. 

'Huh.' She was telling the truth. 

"Path of the Seer then? I'm guessing that witchcraft is translating my words and broadcasting yours." I speculated out loud, it was true though, I hadn't seen her lips move once and she didn't say anything to correct me. "To answer your question though, yes, I did kill them." 

"Why?" I couldn't tell if she was actually interested in the answer, but at least she responded. 

"To become stronger." I answered without hesitation. I wasn't an expert on space elf expressions, but I'm pretty sure that one translated to 'Are you kidding me?'

"And by goading me to fight, you also believe you'll become stronger still?" she raised her eyebrow in a very human like expression.

"I know I will." She fixed me with an inscrutable gaze before speaking.

"I do not sense the Great Enemy within you, but I cannot sense much of anything truthfully. The Empyrean is weak here. Still." Her face was devoid of any discernible emotion. "It is pointless anyways. This place, we find ourselves in, it is a place of perdition. Do you not feel it human? We are damned!" She hissed the last part the pointed towards the mist wall. "I have attempted to travel the mists that border this place and always found myself back in this accursed spot. No matter how far I ran or what path I took, always I return." A painful look overtook her faith.

'Well that would explain what she is doing out here by herself.' I sat down on a nearby supply crate, filled with what I assumed to be space-MREs. "If you don't mind me asking, how did you find yourself here?" I know I shouldn't be taking an interest in this. But was curious. Copies or transplants? 

She was silent and I began to expect that she would not answer. Eventually though, she did, though her mental 'voice' was full of emotion.

"I and a group of warriors were assigned to assist Farseer Mirathed in repelling a human incursion on a Maiden world before they could gain a foothold. We were engaging the foe, when the Farseer conjured a wall of mist to obscure our movements from the primitive artillery your kind employs. There was a twisting feeling, a pull on the inside. And I was here. Alone."

'Well, fuck.' I guess I was a murderer. I would have to live with that. That sensation she desribed was the same as the one I experienced every time the Game moved me forcefully from one place to another. These were all real people plucked from their lives and placed here. 

'But even then, they only 'live' as long as I am in the dungeon. Then they'll be reset and have no memories the next time I visit. Of course they still could be copies, hell I could be a copy, there's no difference.' I metaphorically threw up my hands and the Eldar maiden continued, unaware of my inner discourse. 

"I can feel the land here, it all feels wrong, it should not be." She visibly shook and I could feel the fear in her voice.

'Oh man, her war mask didn't just slip, it was shattered.' As far as I knew an Aspect warrior shouldn't even be capable of feeling strong emotions outside of anger or hate. Their emotion dampening equipment and psychic conditioning should of dulled those feelings to the point of only feeling that which was required for battle. That's why they were called "Aspect Warriors" they represented an aspect of their war god, Kaela Mensha Khaine's and were "walking the Path of the Warrior" all else was left behind. 
As long as they were doing that, they would be expected to wear the "mask". This warrior had obviously fallen from the path, hard.

"I see." I paused, considering my words, "So you believe you will never leave this place?" 

"I do. That path is no longer open to us. You were right, I did travel the Path of the Seer before. What limited skills I have in Divination, I can no longer see anything proceeding from this point. It is the end of all things." the Eldar woman's ears drooped. It would of been very endearing if the situation was any less depressing. 

"If," I stepped closer to where she was sitting, "I had a way to leave this place, what would you do, knowing that?" 

"I would take it for myself and do such." She said simply, curiosity piqued, "To leave this wretched place, this wretched silence I would do anything but that is mere fantasy, the-." I smiled a sad smile as she took the bait, interrupting her by beginning to speak.

"Would you place your life on the line? Would you find yourself again? Kill me and you will escape this place!" I raised the volume of my voice along with my arms, "Proud daughter of Morai-Heg, would you dance with me one last time?" 

"Yes, I would!" she shouted making fists with both hands. As she rose to her feet, for the first time her voice was framed in something other than melancholy. Her long bangs fell and framed her face and he stared at me with burning eyes before seeming to remember herself. "Are you sure you're not Cegorach in the flesh come to trick me into oblivion?" she half jokingly questioned.

I shrugged my shoulders. "Does it really matter?"

"No, I suppose it does not."    Humming, the alien warrior hopped off the tank and onto the ground. She landed in a graceful crouch, helmet gripped in her hand, before she straightened to her full height.  

"Fuck me, you're tall." I wasn't kidding either, she had to be over 194cm. Taller than Emiru by a large margin and my sister was an inch taller than me! 

The pretty ginger spelf bared her pointy incisors at me in a vicious smile. 

"I must warn you. Despite the cursed nature of this fel realm, I have never before felt stronger, tread carefully mon'keigh, or I will give you the death you foolishly seek." Despite the vicious nature of her words, it seemed like she was actually giving me fair warning, the game apparently having buffed her stats to make her a better end stage boss. 

"Nope, that's fine with me!" I replied cheerfully, stretching my arms over my broad chest. 

"Foolish mon'keigh." She grunted, amused, "This accursed place is damned and we are too, let us end this farce one way or another. It is time to die mon'keigh."

"That's the spirit!" I bounced up and down on my toes and threw a few practice punches. Just like I had hundreds of times before in the ring. I didn't feel like using any weapons. Maybe out of respect? Maybe because I wanted to show off? Or maybe because it was what I knew best?

I briefly wondered what Harry-san would think of me now? I had stepped away from the ring, now here I was about to fight an alien warrior woman with my bare fists? Heh. I really did need to visit him and Taki some time. The Eldar looked me up and down with a disapproving frown.  

"You come unarmed?" she frowned making a slashing motion with her hand, "You insult my honor and prove your foolishness, I assure you, I will not show quarter."

"Wouldn't have it any other way babe, and this," I ripped off my torn, stained and cut BDU top and shirt below, exposing my chiseled chest and abs. With a flourish I tossed the ruined garments away, "is all I need." 

Her face twisted in a display of something unidentifiable before she placed her helmet back on her head. It locked with a hiss and the red eye pieces alit with demonic looking light. The ugly helmet's elongated skull piece made her appear even taller. 

'Damn, yeah that's pretty intimidating.' I suddenly felt something llight like pity for the average Guardsman who had to fight these kinds of threats fair and square. 

Unsheathing her sword, she spun it in an intricate spin and raised it in salute.

"Your life is yours to forfeit human ." She sighed and moved into a combat stance. "I will not be left here. No matter the cost."

'No matter the cost heh?', I waved to her in return. "Let us trade names. My name is Nobe Sogen. Thank you for having me." I bowed deeply to her. 

"Eristyth Ae'tochal" She spoke verbally for the first time and her voice was like the jingling of little bells, musical in nature.

'I don't really want to do this. But I will. I am selfish man. Sorry Miss. Ae'tochal' I wasn't smiling anymore. There was still something to be learned here I supposed but the time for words were over. She moved to an unfamiliar pose, swinging her sword up and resting it on her fore arm, crouching low. I knew some kenjutsu, but this was completely alien to me. She thumbed the activation rune on the power sword's hilt and suddenly the blade lit up white, a hazy field of light surrounding the weapon with a low buzzing sound. 

So in response, I simply sank into my typical fighting stance, hands held up at my shoulders, loose fists, one foot slightly in front of the other. The silence was deafening.

I activated Momentum, One Inch Death Punch and Entrenchment. I had learned my lesson on arrogance.  

Within the span of a solitary heartbeat, she moved, bursting forward. With snake like speed, she dashed forward and tried to skewer me with the point of her sword. Her shuriken pistol was still holstered at her hip. 

'Yup, she's faster than baseline me. However,'
I juked to the left and threw a probing high kick. That would of connected with the side of her helmet. She moved at the last second, but I still clipped the pointed helm and damn near knocked her off her feet. She swung a return blow with her sword, but I ducked underneath the swing, avoiding the deadly blade and fire a pair of finger thrusts into her shoulder plate, towards the place where her shoulder joint would of been. Impossibly, my finger penetrated the psychoactive plastoid material and dug into the tender flesh below. She howled and I only had time to grab her arm and drop to the ground before the sonic blast exploded out of the helmet's weaponized muzzle. Thankfully it was directional and the main portion of blast flew past me. However, the splash effect still left my ears ringing. However, For Crown and Country was active and I was able to shrug it off. I yanked on the arm as hard as I could and rolled while kicking with my feet. The throw propelled her into the tank. 

'Damn, she's light.' Despite being a little taller than me, she was probably two stone lighter. 'Their bones must be less dense.' She recovered quickly enough though, still I could tell she was disoriented from that mighty impact. One the side I had attacked, her arms hung limply, though she still managed to hang onto her sword. 

I expected the enhanced scream to come again which was why I slid to the side to avoid, what I didn't expect was the tiny shuriken rounds that perforated my chest and legs. I had forgotten about her side arm and the tiny darts were now tearing apart my body wherever they hit. I could feel my lungs struggle to inflate but I still moved with full clarity. 

Trauma Kit applied, I dove towards her, applying Flurry. Faster than ever, I used my superior strength to smack the shuriken pistol out of her hand. I grabbed her helmet by the Red mane and twisted it to the side, pointing the deadly mouth piece away. I applied a simple arm lock to her injured side and broke the forearm. Finally she dropped the sword. Then whole time she was fighting me for position, hitting me with her free hand. Trapping the offending limb, I twisted my torso and rotated her until he was facing the tank. Finding the lip of the tread and boldly lifting the dazed warrior by the nape of the neck, I reactivated Momentum and began to bash the face of her helmet against the edge of the tread. It took two times until her optics shattered. Three more times and the whole piece had started to crack. By this time, my strength had increased enough that I was able to crush the amplifier box hidden in the mask's mouthpiece with little difficulty. Satisfied she was effectively disarmed, I let her fall to the ground and backed away. 

Eristyth lay still for almost a full minute. Eventually she began to stir. I waited for her to regain her bearings. After a few minutes of groping blindly around her, she reached up to a hidden button on her collar and pressed it. Her helmet fell into two pieces and ejected off her body.

She looked terrible. Her eyes were swollen and a few teeth were missing. There was also a large gash across her lips. I crushed any guilt from forming, knowing this had to be done.

'It's like ruining a piece of art.' I frowned. 

"You are not human."  Shakily she righted herself, wobbled and supported her weight on her knees.

"I never said I was." 

"Hn." She verbally stated, lurching upright and wiping her bleeding mouth with her glove. It was strange, I could see from here her alien blood was already crystalizing. 

"Let's end this." I said quietly. She hesitated, pride fighting with fear.

"Yes. Ceiba-ny-shak." She said something in her people's language, which I did not understand, but sent a strange tingle along my spine. "Slavhreenur." Once again she dropped in a stance picking up her discarded sword from off the ground. Her crippled arm still hung uselessly by her side.

"Thank you." I stated cryptically and she merely looked at me in confusion, before shrugging it off.

"Do not thank me now, I have not lost! " Despite the literally life or death nature of this fight, she still managed to smile brilliantly at me, broken teeth and all.

"I like it!" I grinned madly back while smashing my fists together, "Let's go!" Amped up, I activated my abilities and leapt. There was a notification, but as I was in mid-leap I ignored it, focused instead on landing my strike. As I rapidly closed the distance, I was shocked when she held her ground, frozen. There was a notification, but as I was in mid-leap I ignored it, focused instead on landing my strike. Briefly I contemplated pulling my punch, but decided against it. 'That wouldn't be right. This needs to end.' 

My outstretched arm slammed into her chin, knocking her head back and-
No, my fist flew right through her face, her form fading away like a shadow into the night. 

'What?' I was committed to the charge and couldn't stop myself. 'SHIT ! Double J-' My head whacked into something hard and I was temporarily rendered disoriented as I spun wildly, bouncing along the ground and digging furrows in the dirt as I was sent sprawling. 

"Fuck." I came to a stop and flipped myself back on my feet. Eyes searching, I turned myself around 360, finding nothing but empty landscape. "Come on now Miss. Ae'tochal, this is no fun." I kept my voice jovial but inside I was panicking. I had no defence against thick kind of illusionary trickery! My eyes flickered to and fro, looking for any detail that would give away her position. 

How long has I been under her spell? A minute? Since the very beginning of the fight? Before? I started to sweat. It was only the tingling of Battle Rhythm alerting me of an incoming attack. I ducked, the whiz of something sharp and humming passing over my head. I lashed out blindly, sweeping a leg out only to hit, well nothing.

"Oh, human I disagree. This is quite fun."  Eristyth's voice seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, "For me..."  

The next time I felt the tingle, I tried to move, but my body shuddered as the shuriken pistol made its mark. My stamina bar depleted rapidly and I quickly deactivated Entrenchment, choosing instead to eat the rounds into my HP instead. The tiny razor shards tore into my torso, shredding my lungs and nicking my heart. 

"Status: Major Bleeding (360s)"  I reflexively coughed and almost choked when warm iron flavored fluid filled my lungs. My health bar was dropped to half and quickly it began to fall lower. 

'Trauma Kit' The bleeding was stopped and my health bar refilled, my organ's stitching themselves back together, but in exchange my stamina bar took another dive. This wasn't looking good, I needed to figure out, well anything! 

"You should be dead, but you are not. Curious."  The Eldar warrior stared and I could only imagine that she was referring to the fact that I was still standing after receiving what should of been an instantly fatal injury. 

"Yeah, I get that alot." I grumbled, still searching for a way out of this situation, "Care to try again?" 
She laughed again, a beautiful balm to my raw nerves, but I still held myself ready. 

"I would assume you were gifted in the ways of the Aether by the speed you react, but you are still blinded by simple illusions. Easily so."  

"Gee, thanks." I groaned taking her insult for what it was. Which was the truth. "I thought you left the Path of the Seer behind?" 'Come on man, think, how do you fight an invisible enemy?' 

"Some is forgotten, much is not. My visions were cursed with vagueness so I was forced from the Path." Her voice was venomous, as if it was a painful memory I had dredged up. Another tingle and I leapt left, right, back, dodging the invisible blade. Catapulting myself straight up, I manifested a stick grenade from the Inventory into my hand and dropped it as I flew high into the air, hoping she wouldn't notice. It was for naught, almost immediately I felt another warning, If I were a normal man I would of been impaled mid air, but I escaped with a Double Jump, propelling myself sideways and out of her range. I fired the talent again, landing on the top of the torched Leman Russ and rolling to a stop. 

"That was...unnatural. I sense no scrap of warp craft within you, yet...I cannot explain that."  She sounded genuinely confused. I took the moment to grab a "Minor Stamina Potion" and slam it down.

My stamina bar recovered and I took the moment to chug a health potion as well, feeling much better in the aftermath. But that didn't solve my problem. 

"Don't bother, I don't understand it myself." A plan had started to form in my mind. But I would need to lure her in. 'I'm going off the assumption she only has the use of one of her arms, it's why she's not using the pistol and the sword at the same time. Still, this had better fucking work!'  

I leapt off the tank, flipping in mid-air. I landed back on the ground and stood tall. 'Entrenchment' I activated the ability, and just in time too as my stamina dropped as more shuriken rounds impacted my frame. This time however they merely reflected off of me, and I stretched my arms up and made a show of yawning. 

"That's not going to work again Eristyth-chan! I, the great Sogen have adapted to your tricky Aeldari ways!" I tried to make myself sound as arrogant as possible and spoke with a dramatic flair. "Your pathetic Il-Kaithe bonesung weapons have will have no effect!"

"How-" She had never revealed the Craftworld she hailed from, it had to seem as if I had plucked that from her mind.  Meanwhile...

'Observe, Observe, Observe, Observe...' I spammed the talent, ignoring the useless hits until;

"Name: Eristyth Ae'tochal
...
Title: Kin-Slayer
...
Age: 119
...
Emotional State: Fear and Curiosity"

"Eristyth E'tochal!" I faced where the Observe had placed her and pointed an accusatory finger, "113 years old and already your failures and sins weigh you down like a rock in the sea! I see you! You try and hide from your past in the aspect of Khaine, but he rejects you! Twisted like Crone, Oath breaker, Kin-slayer, murd-" 

The psychically tinged scream of pure rage was almost as painful as the Banshee's had been, but I endured. It was cruel, but so was this whole farce. 

'Dash, Flurry, One Inch Death Punch, Entrenchment' and most importantly 'Counter Punch'. The stamina bar was already ticking down from running Battle Rhythm almost constantly and using those four put him dangerously in the red. Still though, the trap was set. My muscles felt like coiled springs, a striking scorpion awaiting it's prey. 

Not a moment to soon, she was within a second and my body screamed at me to move as something approached my chest. 

Instead, calmly yet quickly I moved slightly to the side, allowing the unseen black to bounce along my shoulder instead of hitting center mass over my heart. Entrenchment protected my body, the blade stopping dead in its tracks, knocking a large part of what little remaining stamina I had left. 

But it was worth it. The warp induced illusion shattered like a broken mirror when my arms automatically reacted and viciously uppercutted the now visible alien blade mistress right in the stomach.

All her armor was for naught as my stacked skills multiplied my already impressive strength to a ridiculous degree, the empowered blow physically lifting her off the ground and a good two meters into the air.

She landed in a heap, wheezing and rolling around in what I imagined to be immense pain, her weapons falling from shaking hands. Not waiting for her to recover this time, if she indeed capable of doing so again, I grabbed her by the back of her neck and hoisted her onto her feet. 

She was almost completely out of it and it took her a good five or six seconds to even realize that she was no longer on the ground. The ensuing kick was sloppy and weak and I was barely pushed to the left. It was a heavy attack, yes a normal human would of probably been killed outright, but it had nothing on the blows that I had suffered through already today. To be fair. I don't even think she was that surprised when her leg refused to come back to her.  
I tensed my fingers, my hand trapping her shin against my neck. Her armored greaves felt cool against my skin.  We made eye contact and as unfocused as her.gaze.was, I could tell that she knew it.was.over. Resigned, her bruised beautiful blue eyes closed...

Three strikes, liver, lungs and heart. I moved so fast my hands could only be perceived as a blur. The last strike was also enhanced by Heavy Blow. As a result, my finger tips imparted so much energy that I didn't even have to penetrate to destroy, the sheer shockwave pulping whatever was second the point of impact. 

I caught her as she fell and gently lowered her onto my lap, sitting alongside her. It was testament to the hardiness of her species that she hadn't died yet. 
I pushed one of her bangs away from her face. 

"What...are you?"  Her mental voice was.weary and weak . 

"I am sorry." I fondly stroked the side of her ruined face, gently running my fingers down her back in a way that I hoped was comforting. 

"Pun-punishment, you are my punishment." She managed and I cupped her cheek in response. 

"No, I..." What could I really say to the person I had just killed, "It's ok. I promise I will get you out of here, one way or another." I tapped her armored chest, where I knew from lore that a crystal pendant would be hanging. "I won't leave you alone."

"Emotional State: Hopeful Contentment"  I smiled as I used Observe to ascertain her feelings. That was good, I was glad she was at some kind of peace. 

"Thank you mon'keigh. Pe-perhaps-" 

I snapped her neck, killing her instantly. 

My greatest act of mercy. Her last thoughts were ones of hope. 

I ignored the message congratulating me on clearing the stage and the award of the Gacha coin. 

I sat there for a little while, holding the stranger that had been trying to kill me mercilessly moments earlier. 

What was the lesson the game had taught me? That I had to do evil to win? That as long as.I said I had something to fight for, I would do anything to achieve it? That I would work to create a happy place for me and those people I cared about in this world?Take what I wanted and damn the consequences! That I would let nothing stand in my way? 

It was true.

But that didn't mean I had to enjoy it being that way. It didn't mean I couldn't be the best monster I could possibly be. Laziness was not going to be the reason for my moral downfall.

'I swear I will not waste this. I promise.' I thought of all the Guard and Eldar I had murdered, 'Thank you. Somehow...' I closed the woman's staring eyes.
My hands felt heavy as I ripped off the upper portion of Eristyth's chest plate. It pulled away from the black undersuit with a sucking sound, little connecting ports ripping free. Not stopping I tore that apart as well. Creamy pale skin lurked underneath and set against it...

A diamond of the finest cut, set into a silver colored metal chain. The gem sparkled with its own generated light and was warm to the touch. I gently lifted her head and slipped the necklace off.

"So this is a soulstone." I murmured turning the glowing diamond over in my hands. A soulstone was basically a phylactery, or a storage container for a soul. When an Eldar died, their soul would pass into the soulstone that they were wearing. Later on, their soul would be uploaded into their home's "Infinity Circuit" which was like a huge Soulstone for millions of souls. It was basically their artificial afterlife. Well it was either that or fall into the hands of a demonic God that had a psychic connection to all of their souls and a hankering for eternal torture. 

"Item: Eldar Soulstone
Quality: Uncommon
This Eldar soulstone contains the soul of Eristyth Ae'tochal of Il-Kaithe. 
Effects: Wearing this necklace gives the player a sense of comfort and a partial protection against low level psychic attacks."

'Really?' Intrigued by the anti-psychic properties of the little rock, I slipped it over my head and let it drop to my bare chest.

The change was instantaneous. All the horror and guilt, the despair and the stress of the last few days seemed to recede. Like someone had wrapped a heavy blanket around my shoulders and was helping to share my pain. It was weird. But welcome. 

"Menu" 

"Name: Nobe Sogen 
Level: 38 (2250/3800)
Title: Reincarnate
Race: Human-Ashikabi Hybrid
Age: 25
Karma: -325

HP: 41,580
SP: 29,452

>STR: 25 
>CON: 22
>STA: 19
>DEX: 23
>INT: 14
>WIS: 14
>PER: 21"

I had gained more strength in half a day than I had in ten years. 

'But I feel like I lost something in exchange. Was it worth it?' 

Yes. 

I gently laid Eristyth's body down on the ground and crossed her arms. 

'See you round, knife ears.' I stood up and gave her body one last look, before turning back and stretching my arms behind my head. 

"Alright, onward and upward. Hold on Benitsubasa. We'll be together soon." 

One breath. 

In.

Out.

"Dungeon Escape!"

Chapter Text

Let's Play: Sekirei

Chapter IV

I reappeared back in the bathroom in the exact same place I had left it. I stared at my nude torso, Eristyth's soul stone glowing around my neck. 'Definitely transported and not a copy. Now, it should be coming any second!' I tapped my foot expectantly, 'Yup, right about...now!'

Nothing happened.

I checked my inventory to make sure my loot was still there.

It was. Which was good.

Still nothing.

"Shit", I began to fear for the worst.

Then. "Congratulations! Level 30 Reached! Rolling for New Talent!" I don't know if I had ever been so relieved to see that stupid message box, but this had to be up there!

I let out an exuberant shout in victory as the slot machine menu opened and began its spin. Just like at level 20, there were no re-rolls.

I waited with bated breath as the spinner slowed and finally-

"Unit 12, escort Ichinomi-san from VIP room twelve to floor 55. Sahashi-sensei requests security escort." The radio that I had stolen from the knocked out security guard squawked in my ear.

'Natsuo is here? How, no, no, no.' I had no time, I watched as the spinner stopped. 'What? I don't, I...' I sighed, I was out of time, so it would have to do.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Commander Jin, leader of M.B.I.'s Tactical Response Unit stepped out of the elevator and into the ground floor lobby. "Fan out, prep to breach." He ordered the men who had ridden down with him and they scurried to obey.

"Commander!" A rather portly man in a Security Service uniform with three stripes greeted him. "What's the situation, any changes?" "No, sir. The suspect still appears to be inside the bathroom and hasn't tried to leave."

'Nobe-san, if that's your actual name, what the hell are you up too?' Jin would be lying if he didn't feel the tiniest stab of betrayal by this latest turn of events, after all he had been the one to approve Nobe-san's request for transfer, even after seeing that he lacked any SOF experience. But mainly he was still trying to rectify reality with what he had just seen on that surveillance tape. The veteran shook his graying head. He had a job to do! "Alright, have your men standby to support my team when they move in."

"Hai!"

Jin waved him away and placed his finger on his headset. "Takayanagi, is your team in position?"

"Roger." The TRU member whispered back, standing stacked along the wall outside of the restroom entrance with the rest of his team.

"Acknowledged, breach when ready." The soldier gave him a thumbs up and prepped a flash bang. "Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump." Every person in the room suddenly looked around in confusion when something, some mysterious sound abruptly started.

"Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump." A loud throbbing sound, like an V-8 engine with straight pipes idling before the inevitable burnout. "Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump, thump."

Powerful, dangerous, Jin instinctively knew that something terrible was about to arrive. He tried to plug his ears but even then, it penetrated just as loudly as before. There was no escaping it. Without warning the speed of the beat began to pick up in both tempo and volume. It soon reached the level of maddening.

Jin saw more than one Security Service personnel start to cry, others trembled fearfully as the dreadful cadence continued. Many others, let their weapons fall slack as they gazed around in confusion.

"LISTEN UP!" The freakish pounding sound stopped dead and in the immediate quiet, somebody began shouting from within the restroom. "I'LL GIVE YOU ONE WARNING! ANYONE WHO STAYS OUT THERE AFTER WILL PUT YOUR LIFE ON THE LINE!" There was a pause and then the voice continued, "I'D SUGGEST YOU RUN! The voice was gravelly and harsh.

Jin considered the words. He had seen the footage, whatever manner of thing this Nobe Sogen was, it was fast, but not faster than a bullet!

This was bluff. It had to be. They were professionals dammit! They would not scurry like rats at the first sign of danger! "TRU team, go ahead an-"

"BOOOOM!" He never managed to give the order, the interior wall separating the bathroom from the rest of the lobby bulged obscenely and then exploded outwards, showering the security personnel with concrete and masonry.The TRU team that had been stacked outside the entryway was sent flying like scattered bowling pins. Men went down all over, battered by flying debris and shrapnel alike.

Once things had quieted down, Commander Jin peeked his head out from behind the statuary that he had found shelter behind.

'What the devil was that?!', whatever it was they couldn't afford to let it use it again, "Fire, fire, fire!" he screamed and the security personnel left standing struggled to comply.

A ragged barrage of automatic fire being directed at the newly created hole. Unfortunately, it wasn't a one way affair. Something bright and red stabbed out of the hole and hit a rifle that one of the Security Service was holding. In a flash the beam impacted the weapon and the next instant it was exploding, mangling the shooter's fingers in the process, the unlucky bastard screaming as he regarded his newly mangled digits. Just as quickly another beam, another exploded weapon and a set of crippled hands. Then another and another.The men started to hesitate between shots, seeing their fellows fall like dominoes, popping out of cover less and less, the rate of suppressing fire decreased drastically.

It was then that all present saw the man, no thing, they were hunting. 

His naked torso exposed like some kind of Rambo rip-off, the big man walked calmly out of still smoking hole, a mysterious looking rifle shouldered at the high ready. Elbows tucked in, his movements were precise and almost robotic. As soon as a security guard would pop up to fire he moved like a piece of industrial machinery, firing pinpoint accurate bursts at weapon or limb, rendering them unable to continue fighting.

The 25 or so men who had assembled to contain the threat had already dropped to ten who were still capable of fighting back.

'Nine, eight, seven...' The rest broke and ran.

Commander Jin sat there in shock as Nobe Sogen casually walked past all the writhing injured and stopped in front of him. The TRU Commander, a special forces veteran of over 20 years, hesitated, his hand caught halfway to his holstered sidearm.

Shouldering his goddamn LASER RIFLE the shirtless man smiled widely and firmly placed his hand on his shaking shoulder. "Hey Boss, consider this my resignation. Now, how about let's go for a ride."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Takami strode down the corridors of the 55th floor, heading towards the area assigned to house the Disciplinary Squad. As it stood an entire floor had been dedicated to the training and housing of M.B.I.'s dogs. They were an integral part of the Sekirei plan, acting as the enforcers of the rules and preventing dangerous outside interference. The first and second generation had been ad hoc organizations, made up of mix of the Gen 1 and Gen 2 members. The third iteration however was two thirds specially designed specifically with this task in mind.

She reached the door to the living quarters and turned to the two giant, yellow spandex wearing figures that had been shadowing her since she left the elevator.

"Remain outside unless I call for you." She instructed and the embedded lights set into the beings face plates that the hulking creatures both wore blinked green. They moved and stood to either side of the door, still as statues. As she approached the door, the whole building slightly shook. She raised her radio to figure out what the hell was going on, but was preempted when a panicked voice cut in.

"Sahashi-sensei! Sahashi-sensei!" The Internet office emergency band chirped.

"This is Sahashi, report!" she snarled, reaching into her blouse for her key card.

"Boo-omb! The intruder," the speaker started coughing, "the intruder blew up a part of the building, shot all the security agents! Some kind of... laser...!" The person on the other end was obviously on the verge of losing their mind.

"Where is the intruder now?" she demanded, holding her keycard up to the door panel.

"He's taken Commander Jin hostage, forced him into the elevator! I think-" Takami cut him off.

"Shut down the elevators, SHUT THEM DOWN NOW!" She ignored the acknowledgment and continued. "Security, where the hell is Ichinomi Natsuo?" There was a brief pause. 'Somebody is figuring out who gets the short stick.' Takami grimly thought.

"Uh, wait one." There was a heated yet muffled conversation on the other end. "We're on the way, heading to the elevators now." A moment later the same voice sheepishly returned. "Elevators are, um, disabled, we'll uh use the stairs."

'I'm surrounded by imbeciles.' The ever suffering scientist bemoaned.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

I tried my best to ignore the presence that now lurked permanently above my left shoulder. I hadn't quite figured out the whole "astral body" thing. I mean, I knew it was supposed to come intuitively, but I was still having trouble.

'Eh, creepy.' I imagined hot breath on my neck and shivered, 'Ugh.' I sent the lasgun I was holding onto back into the inventory and pulled out a laspistol instead. Then I grabbed the gacha coin and summoned the vending machine. The ball had just hit the chute when the power in the elevator cut off and the lights dimmed. I stored the unopened capsule in my inventory.

"Well looks like this is my stop." The number little panel was illuminated with the number 26, which means I had twenty or so floors to ascend.

"Wha-are you a wizard or something?" I looked over to the pale faced Commander whom had so helpfully lent his keycard to access the lift. The man's eyes were nearly bugging out of their sockets. The vending machine disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Yeah, something like that. Now, you might want to cover your ears." Not waiting for his reply, I leapt up and tapped the corner of the ceiling. Landing back on my feet I turned to the confused man and smirked.

"Boom!" As I spoke the a small explosion burst from seemingly nothing and atomized a rough circle out of the car's ceiling. Only I had seen the surge of energy spread from my finger tips and move out into the intended shape on the roof. The car dropped dangerously but stopped, no doubt arrested by an emergency brake. "Ciao!", I propelled myself up out of the hole and to the nearby wall of the shaft.

Gaining a foothold, I jumped straight up, kicking three times in the air before touching the wall again. I counted the floors as I went. '37, 38, 39, 40..."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

A few minutes earlier...

Benitsubasa was angry. No, she was livid! Ticked off, enraged, raging, seething, choleric. Any of these would of described her current state of mind.

Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" The petite sekirei hurled a coffee table into the breakroom's television set, transforming both into a mangled pile of twisted debris. The sofa was kicked over against the window. Failing to grab anything else within hands reach, she crouched and grabbed at the carpet under her feet, tearing the material free in a great sheet and flapping it pathetically around. The movement caused her body to ache, still battered from being thrown around like a rag doll earlier."Gryahhhh!" Now truly without anything to throw, she tugged on her boot, intent on pulling it off her foot!

"Would you knock it off already? We still have to live here you know." She froze at the sound of her teammates voice, so consumed by her emotions she had forgotten the other girl's presence. Quickly though, she regained her footing, slamming her fist into an open palm.

"You might, but I can't stay here after that, that, BITCH, took my Ashikabi away!" The pinkette grabbed her battle kimono right above her heart and twisted. "It hurts so bad Hane. Like I'm being cut, over and over again! Right here!" The emotional teen alien pointed to where her heart would be, "I can't help but see my monkey fall, again and again."

"It's all right to be sad Benitsubasa, but getting so angry? You're just going to get hurt!" she had closed the distance and tentatively rested her hand on the smaller girl's shoulder.

"Tch." Benitsubasa threw off Haihane's hand, "I don't care! I'll, I'll-" she glared at Haihane's with such ferocity that the white haired girl stepped back. "YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! I FELT IT, EVERYTHING AND IT WAS TAKEN AWAY! I'LL KILL KARASUBA! KILL HER, KILL HER, KILL HER, KILLHERRKILL!"

By the time she finished, her face was beet red and her eyes were swollen with tears. Sekirei-105 hunched over like a wild animal, nearly foaming at the mouth, her hands at her sides clenched into claws. Squeezing her hands so hard, blood was clearly leaking out of her trembling fists. Thick veins were clearly visible on the backs of her hands and all over her forehead. Most disturbingly a flickering red energy began to shroud her body partially, malevolent and promising violence.

But it departed as soon as it came and she fell to her knees, the mysterious energy had deserting her. "Is there something wrong with me?" she cried, it had been devastating for her and she just felt that it was all coming crashing down. Haihane meant well, but she just couldn't understand what it felt like to lose something like that. "I wish I was terminated with him." she murmured.

'They lied to us! Lies, lies, lies! Find your Destined One? What does it mean if my Destined One is dead?! I am doomed to forever be alone? There was one chance and I-' She felt like yawning.

"YAWN!" A sudden lethargy sized her body. as if all the frenetic energy had been leeched away. She tried futilely to raise her head back up, but only succeeded in spotting Haihane fallen over the chair she had been sitting in only a meter or so away. With her final reserve of strength, she reached towards the closed door, already having fallen to the ground.

'Help me.'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

"The room has been cycled Ma'am, it's in the green." A random TRU team member informed and Takami held her key card against the electronic lock. The device chimed and allowed her and her team access into the Disciplinary Squad's break room.

Immediately she took note of 104 and 105 collapsed on the floor, the latter's hand outstretched towards the entryway. A quartet of TRU troopers entered behind her, the security she had requested finally arriving with their V.I.P. in tow.

The last person to enter was a young effeminate looking brown haired man, dressed sharply in a three piece suit and tie. His grey eyes apathetically flowed over the two downed aliens.

"Are those them?" he deadpanned.

"Yes." Takami gestured for the soldiers to pick the sekirei up, which they did, slinging the women up on their shoulders like sacks of meat. "Put them over there." she gestured at the ping pong table on the far side of the room. Takami felt another faint shudder under her feet, like another bomb had gone off.

"Damn it!" she had hoped that stopping the elevators would at least contain the threat to the lower levels. 'Hopefully he blew himself up.'She checked her cellphone, there was a new message from Minaka, but she ignored it. "Natsuo, it's time. Go."

The man lifelessly stared off into space before responding. "I prefer not to kiss them," Takami rolled her eyes. "can I spit in their mouths instead?"

"Do what you want just make the contract now!" Before his fancy leather loafers could make more than a single step, "BANG! CRASH!", yet another explosion rocked the room, loud enough to cause everyone to flinch. It sounded like it was right outside!

"My the vermin are chittering loudly today. Very lively." the door that led to the living quarters opened and Karasuba sauntered in. She looked disinterestedly around the room, pausing momentarily on her passed out kouhai and Natsuo who was looming over them,. "Maybe we should change that?" Her slitted eyes moved to Takami. "Must be something very important going on, eh Takami-chan?" The lanky sekirei perched herself in a lotus position on the arm of the smashed up couch, her ever present nodachi resting menacingly across her legs.

Takami discretely pressed a button on her watch that would summon her special guards.

Karasuba showing interest in ANYTHING was bad news.

"We are just completing the winging ceremony for 104 and 105. You remember Ichinomi-san, correct?" "Hmmm," the Black Sekirei held her chin.

"Can't say it rings any bells. Though, I was talking about all the explosions, impossible for a girl to get any sleep with these two throwing tantrums, let alone something being blown up nearby."

Natsuo turned to her, obviously hurt by the snub. "But, we, you, told me we would wipe them all out! Make them suffer, together! What changed?" Natsuo seemed genuinely distressed about the dismissal, though Takami didn't really want to know what kind of psychopathic deal the two misanthropes had apparently worked out.

"Sorry, must of been someone else.' Karasuba shrugged before another explosion rocked the building. This time it was accompanied by an inhuman roar. "Sounds like someone is having some fun, you holding out on me Takami-chan?"

'Shit. The two specials must be fighting the intruder. I need to keep the sekirei separated.' Takami frantically waved her arms, "Natsuo enough, make the contract now!"

The gay man spared Karasuba one last look of betrayal before he leaned over to the table where the sekirei were lying on. Using his hand, he tried to pry 105's mouth open, but even unconscious her jaw muscles must of been clenched and he couldn't get them open.

"Can I get some help here?" Takami gestured for one of the soldiers to assist and the bigger man pressed his fingers into the pinkette's jaw, forcing her mouth open. The sound of fighting continued just outside the door. Natsuo took a moment, hacking up some phlegm from the back of his throat.

"Disgusting." Karasuba frowned, fiddling with the handle of her sword. Ignoring her, Natsuo leaned over the unconscious woman and pursed his lips.

The door to the break room flew off it's hinges with a blow so powerful it rattled her teeth. Everyone jumped, even Karasuba. Natsuo flinched as well and the fat gob of spit landed on the table next to 105's head

A figure sat up slowly from where he had landed on the bent door, groaning as he moved to a sitting position.

"Nice welcome I'm getting so far, sorry," he looked around sheepishly, "I recently quit my job and am here to clean out my locker." The man that had been the cause of all these problems joked as he stood and dusted off his pants."Just need to grab a few things..."

The TRU troopers recovered and pointed their rifles at him, but he just laughed. Takami noted with some alarm the dried blood stains splattered all over the man's body, he was practically coated in the stuff!

"Hey, hey, easy now fellas. Workplace violence is a serious problem. Let's do our best!" He smashed a closed fist into his palm. Turning to her, he smiled and waved. "Oh high Takami-chan! Nice to finally meet you! How's Minato-kun doing? Still busy flunking out of Todai?"

"You!" the scientist hissed, "How?" He shouldn't have been able to have gained access to that information! M.B.I. had laundered her family's information enough that there should of been nothing official linking her to her two children. It had to be that way, her status and position within the company would of made them a prime target for kidnapping or assassination.

"A little red feathered birdie told me ALL about what you and the chunnibayo freak have been up too."

'Number 02? That little traitorous whore!' Takami mentally swore. After the Brain-type had escaped with the help of No. 10, even worse she managed to do it with a stolen Jinki of all things, she had made their way to the Inn that Number 1, the creature known as Miya, had been running. Due to that being's unparalleled power, they had been unwilling and unable to risk angering the mercurial demigod. So their options had been limited, better in the end to let well enough alone. Apparently though, this man had been in contact with their lost little bird. Which raised all kinds of problems. She watched as the intruder, looked over to where the drugged sekirei lay, a look of anger and despair coming over him, right before, relief?

Seemingly satisfied, he turned back to Takami. No, behind her. "Yeah, THOSE were definitely not in the manga!" Takami didn't even have time to wonder what nonsense the insane man was spouting now as the two specials squeezed through the broken doorway, bowing their helmet encased heads as they passed.

Standing at over 215cm tall they absolutely dwarfed everyone else in the room and were almost double the width. Takami smiled smugly. Derrickson-sensei was an obnoxious little man, but there was no denying the power of his creations.

"Incapacitate him but do not damage the body too greatly. We need to be able to do a full dissection."

The helmets on the two monsters blinked green and they lunged forward.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

The two tracksuit wearing freaks moved simultaneously, one from the right and one from the left. Their outfits were bright yellow, with a neon green stripe running down each side. Faces and heads were obscured by matching gray metal bucket helmets, with a circular opaque glass viewing port on the front.One had 213 stitched over its pectoral and the other 222.

They had jumped me from the moment I had blown the elevator entrance. Grabbing and punching, it was everything I could do to keep myself away from them. The bastards were strong enough to shear away chunks of steel girders when they missed and fast enough to catch me when I activated all of my buffs.

I had only managed to avoid being turned into road kill by generous application of my newfound explosion generating powers. Didn't have time to use Observe either. Still ended up getting thrown through a steel reinforced door. But methinks I had come out the better of that exchange.

The goon labeled with 222 flexed it's arm menacingly, the other ending in a ragged burnt and bloody mess of fused flesh and spandex. I had managed to tag the thing's glove, though apparently I hadn't used enough "umpf".

"Probably your fault." I muttered, though I doubted the spiritual manifestation of my psyche lurking behind me cared. Or even had a mind of its own to care.

Yeah, I guess I was a Stand user now. The mystical set of abilities that the author of JoJo's Bizarre Adventures created because he thought the magic system he had started with was too boring. That was my latest acquired talent.

"TALENT: KILLER QUEEN LEVEL 1

Cat person? Glam rock enthusiast? Serial bomber? Don't Stop Me Now! Transform your enemies and objects into living explosives!

Effects: Player gains control of the Stand Killer Queen and can now see Stands and other spiritual apparitions.

Killer Queen: Remote Detonation - Stand can charge 1 object, inanimate or animate, with an explosive charge. Charge has variable power and can be detonated remotely by Killer Queen pressing its thumb and pointer finger together.

Killer Queen: Explosive Touch. - An object touched by the Stand or the Stand user can be charged with explosive energy and caused to explode. Strength of explosion can be varied."

I turned my head slightly to the left.

'Pink Skinned, pink eyed, cat eared, muscle bound leather wearing freak? Yup, still there.' The spirit loomed over my shoulder, a perpetually slightly surprised look on its face. Also.

"Oh, hey Karasuba, I didn't notice you there. Gotta stop being so shy!" I really hadn't noticed her, but in my defense there was a lot going on. She had changed her uniform, so I didn't get to see the gruesome injury I had managed to give her.

She also seemed to be giving me her best impression of a large mouthed bass.

I ignored her and turned back to face the other threat in the room. I guess she didn't appreciate the cold shoulder though, as I felt a small, yet painfully powerful grip on my shoulder.

"When I kill something, I expect it to stay dead." she slid her hand smoothly along my shoulder to the crook of my neck and turned me to face her. Her voice might of been cheerful, but she radiated danger.

Weird to think that I could probably kill her now though. I could almost feel Killer Queen as an extension of my body, I imagined it moving, and the humanoid's purple hand reached out and hovered just above the smaller grey haired woman's head,she being none the wiser.

She could probably still kill me too, but by surprise?

Pretty sure I could pop her cork before she could react. Knowing I had that power over this powerful being felt amazing.

That she deserved it, made it even better.

"Well I'm sorry I didn't meet your expectations. Now can you kindly fuck off, the adults are about to murder each other."

"That's..." She didn't even seem to register the insult. Instead I watched as she made an honest to god sniffing motion, turning her nose up and everything. Her eyes suddenly opened wide and she shoved her entire face into my skin, snuffling all around my exposed chest and side. Her hands roamed over my abdomen. I heard Takami screaming something and gun shots rang out, the rounds mostly impacting with Killer Queen who was still standing behind me. A few got through and I felt the now disturbingly familiar burn of objects passing through my body.

Something in my field of view blurred and the shooting abruptly stopped, Karasuba appearing just as quickly as she flashed away. A series of four thumps as the newly created corpses dropped to the ground, but all I had was eyes for the insane woman who was now holding my hands, like we were about to "till death do we part".

"What the fuck has gotten hold of you Crazy?" I was bewildered by this sudden change.but then again, should I really be?

"How," she cleared her throat, "how many did you kill? 25? 50?" Karasuba was panting!

'Oh Jesus, she must smell all the blood from the dungeon. The Guardsmen.' I twisted my face into an uneasy smile. "Uh, yeah, I went all out, it, probably a hundred or so, uh wasn't that big of a deal." I mentally smacked myself in the face, 'Not a big deal? Are you really goading this psychopath on right now? After all the people she, ugh...'

"You went all out? No-not a big deal? You...I...I, uh, so, hoh!" Karasuba was sweating bullets and staggering left and right, her face was fully flushed and her eyes were half lidded with what I could only guess was desire.

I didn't know what to do. Karasuba would make a powerful tool. But she was also batshit. Just as likely to kill me as she was to help.

Although with the hunger in her eyes, I might not have a choice.

But I wouldn't have to worry about that till later, the jumpsuit clad freaks tired of waiting and chose that moment to pounce! A ham sized fist collided with my shoulder and spun me around at least twice.

I landed on my back and rolled. My health bar dropped a quarter and the game so gleefully informed me of a bevy of newly broken bones.

"No!" Karasuba shrieked as she jumped at the giant's back, nodachi slicing into its unprotected flesh. "He's not yours to kill!" She screamed as she laid into the beast.

"Trauma Kit" I could see Takami pull herself off the floor, clutching one side of her face where presumably Karasuba had slashed her. Figuring out that she was just likely to end up as collateral damage, the woman beat a hasty retreat, sliding door closing behind her.

Leaving us alone with the help.

The behemoth that was missing an arm swung around fast enough that the air cracked. Karasuba stopped her attack to jump away, her nodachi held defensively. The second giant was quickly approaching her back, throwing a massively sized fist. She dodged again, too quick to see, but the jumpsuited minion could apparently track her movements, as it and its freshly recovered brethren synchronized their attacks, clothselining Karasuba from above and below at the same time. She went down hard, literally spinning mid air like a pinwheel. Was it possible that these things were stronger than Karasuba? I knew it was stupid but the thought of 2 on 1 stirred something in me. I used Double Jump to fly off the floor and directed Killer Queen to lash out at one of the creatures, the one with the arm that I had destroyed earlier. I summoned a lasgun and aimed at the second. My shoulder blazed with pain and broken bones but For Crown and Country negated the debuffs.

Meanwhile in the amount of time that it had taken for me to accomplish just that, the Black Sekirei had recovered and a raging fast battle had began between the three monsters. I could hardly see anything, just a series of blurry motions and the trails of blood that were suddenly sprayed on the walls.

I felt something pull at me, like I was trying to extend a limb farther than it would go. That turned out to be Killer Queen, seemingly stuck against an invisible wall only a few meters away. 'Damn, the range is limited?' That was disappointing.

I looked down the rifles sight and time slowed. Now I could make out what was happening, though just barely, which was mainly Karasuba getting her shit pushed in.

The two jumpsuit clad giants were working together to pummel her into submission, it didn't matter if she appeared to be faster, they would just ignore any hits she got in and continue striking, her sword leaving a multitude of shallow and deep cuts. It wasn't enough though. Already I could tell she was slowing and one of her arms was already bent at a funny angle.

Then things went from bad to worse for her, as 222 managed to snag the arm holding her nodachi. Yanking her up up, I watched in fascination as something gave way inside her wrist and the sword was flung out of her grip, embedding in the wall next to the door. The other freakish opponent wasted no time in taking her to the ground in a flying tackle which left the much smaller woman pinned underneath the massive bulk. Taking advantage of the slowed time I used Observe.

"Name: Unit 222

Level: 90

Title: Freakish Experiment

Race: Artificial Genetically Modified Ssatho'Alopewii (Sekirei) - Winged

Age: 2

Karma: 0

Affiliation: M.B.I - Section Zero

Emotional State: Chemically Induced Rage

Threat Level: Very High

HP: 1,462,500

SP: 1,575,000

>STR: 100

>CON: 65

>STA: 70

>DEX: 100

>INT: 5

>WIS: 5

>PER: 80"

So they were tougher and stronger than I remembered Karasuba being. And these were sekirei? Two years old?

I fired a burst of lasbolts into the back of the crippled one's head, melting chunks of the spherical helmet. I changed to its unarmored chest when I saw it wasn't doing much. Big chunks of flesh exploded as the supercharged light rays boiled and fried everything they came in contact with.

In response the beast roared and spun around to face me. I had already activated my buffs and closed the distance as quickly as possible. The mutant sekirei moved just as fast in response, lunging at me like the wild beast it was. Knowing I wouldn't be tough enough to go toe to toe, I jumped as soon as I started to move, sailing over my grasping foe.

As I passed over its head, Killer Queen tapped its leather gloved finger on the experiment's back. The creature twisted, recovering almost instantly but it was for naught. I tried to imagine a slightly more powerful blast than the one that had claimed its arm earlier. In a fraction of a second, pink lightning traveled over the thing's back and the area bulged obscenely. "KA-POW!"

"Skill Up: Explosion Resistance"

The test-tube baby stood up straight, pawed its missing back flesh and let out a pathetic whimper before falling over, face first, landing with a mighty thud.

It's spine and rib cage were completely visible, strange wires and machinery inside its torso smoking from where the blast had left them exposed. I looked at my hand feeling an uneasy excitement.

'So, this is the power of a Stand?' I turned my hand over and saw that Killer Queen mirrored my movement off to the side. 'Finally a non-shitty power! It's about damn time!' I wanted to do a jig!

"Monkey?" A quiet weary voice came from somewhere behind me. 'Monkey?' My brain stalled for a second before it rebooted and I remembered the entire reason I had come here.

"Benitsubasa!" I shouted gleefully as I turned on my heel and rushed to the table, my boots squeaking as I turned.

"Monkey-kun!" She lifted herself partway on her elbow. It was obvious she was still kind of out of it, but that didn't stop me from sweeping her off the table and spinning her around in my arms, knocking a recovering Natsuo back onto the ground as I did.

"I thought I lost you!" I couldn't help but let my emotions creep into my voice as I croaked the words out. Wow, she was so small! She felt like she hardly weighed anything at all.

"M-me-me too! Uzzzh, dizzyy." Her voice wobbled and she sounded like she was about to get sick.

Embarrassed, I stopped my cavorting and gingerly set her back on the table in a seated position. She continued to move her head in little circles as if she was still spinning and her tongue slowly descended out of her mouth. 'So kawaii!' I squealed internally.

"Sorry." I smiled sheepishly and gently put my hand on her shoulder. Her involuntary movements stopped and she clutched her head, eyes closed tight.

"Ooowoo." She moaned, before opening her eyes. Beautiful pink and, full of rage?

"Ooof!" I felt all the air exit my body as the lil' cutie drove her fist into my gut.

"That's for making me worry, monkey!" she fumed, now fully awake.

'Right, alien rage monster. I forgot.' I dry heaved, I'm sure if I had anything in my stomach it would of made its reappearance here.

"And-and this i-is for coming back." I felt two petite hands hesitantly hold either side of my face and something soft touch my lips. Forgetting any complaints I was about to make and the situation we were currently in, I accepted the kiss from my Sekirei, holding onto her possessively, my tongue eventually invading her smaller mouth.

I wrapped my arms around her body and placed them on her hips. pulling her to me. As soon as our tongues met, she shuddered, her whole body going stiff as a board as she moaned into my mouth. Bright pink lit up the room as two wings made of light exploded out of Benitsubasa's back. She continued to moan and tremble until after what felt like an eternity our lips parted and she stepped back, wobbling a little from the after effects of the contract. Only for moment though, before passion filled crimson eyes met my own.

"Palm of my pledge, crush the stones torturing my ashikabi, Sekirei-105, Benitsubasa! she declared bolly, much more confident than she had been moments earlier. I could feel the resolve in her words and the mantra stirred something deep inside me."I am yours, forever."

"Happy to have you Beni-chan!" I smirked and patted her on the head. Which was apparently the wrong thing to do as she growled and slapped my hand away.

"Watch the hair." she glowered, smoothing the part that I ruffled.

"New Job Acquired: Ashikabi"

"Companion Function Unlocked"

"New Companion Added: Benitsubasa has joined the party!"

'What the hell?', "What the hell?" I blinked in surprise, my new sekirei was pointing behind me, eyes wide and mouth agape as if she had seen something terrifying, or... Killer Queen moved to my left side, floating there and staring at my sekirei with that half surprised face it always seemed to sport. I face palmed.

"Gh-gh-g-gh-ghost!" Benitsubasa stammered, her face white with fear. I hadn't dismissed the stand.

Actually I didn't know HOW to dismiss it. I held my hands up disarmingly. The stand mimicked my actions. "Not a ghost, its um, like my spirit animal. It's part of me. Understand?" Benitsubasa scratched her head. "Uh, no. Not really. But, why is it growling at me?"

"Growling?" I asked her, Killer Queen was as mute as ever. 'What else is...?'

Ah, I forgot we weren't alone.

Karasuba had somehow gained the upper hand in her struggle and was at the moment straddling the super-sekirei, seeking to crush its windpipe. The giant mutant was pounding on her lithe arms and wildly bucking its hips in a valiant attempt to throw her off. The growling sound was coming from between bared teeth. Even though she was in a fight presumably a fight for her life the Black Sekirei wasn't currently paying her opponent any attention at all.

Instead she was occupied with glaring bloody murder at Benitsubasa, who lost all of her recent bravado and wrung her hands nervously.

Seeing that particular reaction dug at me a little bit. MY sekirei shouldn't be cowed by ANYONE!

I frowned at the apparently jealous woman. I couldn't risk getting involved. So I did what I could.

I completely ignored the budding yandere.

"Let's leave Beni-chan. Nothing important left to do here." I idly watch Natsuo scurry out of the room.

"Yes!" The pink haired fighter grinned and hopped up and down excitedly. She really was adorable. Though she did eye my Stand warily once or twice. I walked up to the window and commanded my stand to touch the window, spreading its explosive energy throughout the tempered glass.

I returned to where she was standing and hugged her close to me, putting my back between the glass and her.

"What are you doing?" she asked and I gently held my hands over her ears. She flushed and turned away. A mental command and Killer Queen clicked its finger's together causing the window to explode.

Immediately a strong breeze started blowing around the room, ruffling Benitsubasa's hair. "Let's go home."

She started to say something, but stopped instead and pointed to Haihane, who was still unconscious.

"What about Q-Tip?" she said nervously, maybe to embarrassed to ask me something on behalf of her, friend? Or t least I assumed she was her friend.

"What about her?" I gestured at the other girl, "Do you want to take her out now before the game starts?" I kept my face as serious as I could, even making a slashing motion across my throat with my thumb.

The look on her face was priceless. "No! I mean that's not-"

I interrupted "Smart plan, I knew you had a good head on your shoulders!" Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head.

"THAT'S NOT WHAT I MEANT! IDIOT MONKEY!" She yelled, stepping up to me and sticking a little gloved fist in my face.

"Fine, she can come." I relented instantly.

"Wha? But you said?" she sounded genuinely confused and I felt slightly bad. In the background e two titans continued to wrestle. Karasuba had lost her position and was now the one being now choked, her face nearly turning blue as the giant's hands compressed her windpipe.

"I'm just fucking with you Red." I walked over to Haihane and hoisted her up on my shoulder. "Now lets go. I'm sick of this place." I steered the stuttering girl towards the open window.

"NO! HNNH, YOU CAN'T LEAVE, HNNH, I FORBID IT!" Again Karasuba had gained the dominant position, now executing a rear naked choke, her arms struggling mightily to restrain the struggling super-sekirei. "I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE ME! IF YOU LEAVE...I'LL KILL YOU!" I idly noted for the first time just how long her legs were. I shook my head, now was not the time.

"Yeah, yeah." I reached down and snatched up a large piece of broken glass and bounced it up and down in my hand, gauging it's weight. Scanning the room one last time, I noticed with some alarm that the mutant I had thought killed had started to move. Even more worrying the gaping hole in its back looked a lot smaller than it had before... 'They have regeneration?' I frowned, the implications of that were disturbing. `I guess it's gonna take a little more oompf .'

I looked at the second most powerful goddess in this alien pantheon and flipped her the bird.

"The problem, Karasuba-chan, is that while I could keep you alive, honestly for me, it would be more convenient, if you were dead." I grinned at her wickedly, saw her icy grey eyes widen in recognition, just before I tossed the piece of glass up and had it snatched out the air by Killer Queen. I focused on imparting as much explosive energy as possible into the makeshift weapon.

Then I grabbed Benitsubasa around the waist, who squeaked in protest.

"Wait, wait, where are we-aieeeeeeeeeee!" I jumped out the window at the the same time Killer Queen chucked the large shard of glass like shuriken, embedding it deeply in the super-sekirei's chest. I launched myself and the girls as far as I could with a jump, then used Double Jump to gain even more vertical distance. When I thought I had enough...

The window that we had jumped from, the ones next to it and a good portion of the ones above and below exploded outward in a massive detonation. As we sailed over Shinto Teito, I waited for a moment before barking out a laugh.

'Huh, no XP? Crazy tough chick.'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Takami scrambled out of the elevator, her heart feeling like it was about to burst out of her chest. She clutched her wounded eye. Number-04 had attacked her without hesitation and she still wasn't sure if it was intentional or not.

Not that it mattered. Karasuba was a liability, a mad dog that had to be put down. A voluntary winging by Natsuo was their last available alternative and remote termination was still not possible due to the loss of the Jinki. The Jinki, shards of alien crystal that resonated with the same power that gave the Sekirei their power, still were not cooperating with their attempts to interface with them. 

Takehito's death had proven their lack of understanding. Not that it mattered, No-2 had stolen one and the damn things only worked when all were present. And what the hell was this Nobe Sogen? The thing was clearly just playing at being human, yet was also an ashikabi? What were his objectives? "Sahashi-sensei!" the cries of alarm that greeted her when she re-entered the control room.

Somebody called for a medical team but she waved the concerned hands away and slumped back down at the head of the conference table.

Suddenly the entire building shook, greater than any blast so far. Takami grabbed the edge of the table, looking around fearfully as the structure groaned and visibly swayed.

Minutes passed and eventually the staff recovered and began running about, checking camera feeds and screaming into radios.

Not all of the people who had attended the meeting earlier were present, notably the TRU Commander and Professor Derrickson.

"Status Report." Takami demanded, with her voice the room became silent, nobody daring to speak, until the overweight redhead from earlier nervously supplied an answer.

"Um, security feeds confirm that the intruder has winged sekirei-105 and left the premises with both her and 104.. Satellite tracking from his phone showed he," she paused as if trying to formulate her thoughts to sound as not crazy as possible, "appeared to be moving at high speeds after exiting the building via an exterior window. The phone signal dropped before we could get a visual."

"So he's, what, flying?" Takami rested one side of her head in her hand. This day was turning out to be too much. "Where are 105 and the other? Are they still with him?"

"We don't actually know." the other woman uselessly supplied and shrugged. "Their tracking systems are returning an error."

"How-no ugh, nevermind. What are our losses?"

"32 critically injured and 3 killed, not including the 4 murdered by No-04.. The levels affected by the explosion have suffered minor exterior damage, but crews will have to go in to recover the bodies and assess structural damage." The head of the Security Service for the building informed her.

Takami nodded her understanding. It could of been a lot worse. Though that still begged the question of the origin of this new threat, if anything the second encounter had things getting even stranger. 

"Does anyone have any working theories on what exactly it is we're dealing with here? I have my own thoughts, but I would like to hear from the rest of you." There was no way in her mind that Nobe Sogen was a human, or let alone even from this planet. The tech he displayed, those laser weapons, that kind of thing at that size just wasn't possible with today's technology. 

She would know, she was directly involved in the space based laser weapons that M.B.I. recently fielded. 

Much the same was echoed back to her by the xenobiologist on staff, though this new "explosive generation" power was troubling. The theories were wild and speculative in the end and and Takami quickly tabled that discussion for more important matter.

"What about No-4?" she had felt the last explosion that had occurred after she had left, it had seemed pretty powerful, maybe the bitch had been finished off. 'Not with my luck today.' she bemoaned. Just the thought of the lanky psycho Sekirei made the wound on her face pulse. She grimaced.

"Well her tracker shows an error as well. Camera's do show she's not in the area. Maybe the blast-" Sakura

"Ha! No, she's too much a pain in my ass to be a good girl and die. Probably ripped the tracker with her teeth or something." Takami idly pulled out her phone, suddenly feeling the urge to hear her kid's voices. However when she unlocked the phone she saw the message from Minaka and after reading it, she stood abruptly and rushed out of the room.

Ignoring the patronizing calls from her fellow employees she grabbed the first available elevator and smashed the button for the penthouse.

'Minaka, you bastard, what have you done?'

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

M.B.I.'s head scientist tapped her foot impatiently as the masked guards patted her down. Not even she, Minaka's childhood friend and the mother of his children was exempt from the genius maniac's paranoia. The guards finished their pat down and returned to their posts on either side of the large entrance, the portal to Minaka's private abode. They were ludicrously ornate, with gold scroll and platinum engraving all over depicting various western biblical scenes, mainly angels and demons.

The guards themselves didn't say anything else or make any more moves, sitting completely motionless with their hands locked behind their backs, which were also positioned ramrod straight. More Section Zero creations, these ones were, though unlike the bloated monstrosities that she had left below, these still had their feminine figure, albeit a very slim and tall one.

Before long, the opulent door opened on its own, allowing her entrance into an equally self indulgent display of wealth that would of been fitting for a 17th century French Palace. Golden statues and reliefs filled every junction and alcove. Rare paintings and art covered every wall. Long marble columns lined the pitch black obsidian hallway. Minaka's palace, which was indeed the correct word for such a residence, took up two whole stories of Teito Tower. The very top of one man's monument to his massive ego dedicated to glorifying and displaying his wealth and culture.

Takami entered a large open area that served as a garden and reception hall. "What the hell do you mean, "My little experiment", Minaka?" She shouted, as soon as the man in question came into view.

Laying on a wicker chaise lounge, the CEO of M.B.I. was dressed in a bright white military dress uniform, complete with golden tassels and epaulets. A thick stack of awards and ribbons adorned his chest. His usually unruly hair had been partially tamed, combed back into a semblance of a civilized appearance.

"Ah Takami, truly that is the billion yen question isn't it? What exact action is this outrage in reference to?" His tone was as obnoxious as always. His movement erratic. 

"Tut, tut. Hiroto-sama, you must not move. I am just getting to the delicate part."

"Ah of course." Minaka moved back to his prior pose. "Takami-chan, have you met Joji-san? He's a wonderful avant-garde, famous in Hokkaido for his-"

Takami violently ripped the large canvas off the easel and wantonly tossed the half finished portrait into a nearby planter where it crumbled into a ruined mess.

"What. Did. You. Do?" Her icy voice sent the painter scurrying for cover. Minaka on the other hand merely smiled and clapped his hands in delight.

"Oh! You must be talking about Sogen-kun and his new Sekirei! What a find right? Though I daresay I never imagined what kind of find it would turn out to be! He's like a superhuman or something. And somehow he becomes an ashikabi now too! A true miracle! The gods of fate have smiled upon us Takami! Their will has been made apparent!" Halfway through his rambling speech, he had stood and was gesticulating wildly. Takami slapped him hard right in the face and grabbed his collar.

"You disabled the tracking chips! Why? He made a fool of us! Got people killed! The Disciplinary Squad is gone now!" she hissed and Minaka only saw fit to beam in response, her red hand orient displayed proudly on his face.

"He is part of the sekirei plan now, Takami. It is not any of our places to interfere with the will of the gods." the madman bowed his head and clasped his hands together as if in prayer.

"Minaka, we cannot allow this rogue element to-"

"Ahh but that is exactly why we must! We have been trying control the uncontrollable, it was only natural that fate would find a way to restore the balance!"

"The plan has not even begun! How delusional can you be!" Though really she already knew the answer to that. Time to try something else. "Minaka, he knows about Minato and Yukari! We need to take care of this! For our children's sake!"

"Oh, Takami-chan, your bleeding all over the ground! You should go find a paper towel or something." Minaka leaned in and inspected her wounded face, ignoring her emotional appeal. With that final insult, ahe didn't bother with anymore words, kneeing the dumbass in the junk as hard as she could, hoping that got the point across. She turned on her heel, she left the gibbering fool were he lay. 'He's right though, I'd better get this checked out. Right after I inform the security teams watching the kids about this collosal fuck up. What the hell are we going to do?"

She passed the painter who was cowering behind a gaudy statue. He jumped when she made eye contact.

"He's ready for you now, make sure you get it right."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

"Thank you for visiting the Dolphin Blue, how many hours will you b..." The lady working the front desk froze when she looked up and saw us. It probably wasn't every day that you saw a bear of a man accompanied by two beautiful women, one of whom was apparently unconscious and being carried like a sack of potatoes. And walking into a love motel where the very implication was we were about to get our freak on.

Explicitly.

"Oh, we'll be staying the WHOLE night, so I'll pay for that now, make it a premium room. This one had a little too much to drink so were gonna let her sober up first!" I winked at her and she stared at me in concern and confusion. As I completed the transaction, I noticed that Benitsubasa was trying and failing to hide her fascination with, well everything.

From the street vendors, to the various hostess clubs we passed, to the little clothing store I had bought a change of clothes at. It was also, during that time that I realized my sweet little cherry bomb was a veritable ball of nervous, excitable energy. Seriously, when I had stopped to pick up a spare cellphone at a convenience mart, she had been able to sit still, wandering around the store, constantly. It was like she had a case of turbo ADD. Which may or may not of been normal for her. Maybe this was just her expressing her nervousness and excitement at the situation. I guess when you were raised in a sterile lab or wherever the hell she grew up, that would tend to happen.

"Room 344. thank you for your stay." The front desk worker said with a bow and directed us to the elevators. It was actually pretty nice as far as love hotels went, done in a stylish western way. I shifted Haihane's weight on my shoulder. I was starting to get worried about her. She still hadn't awoken. Whatever knockout gas M.B.I. had used seemed to have messed her up. Or at least she wasn't as resistant to it as Benitsubasa was.

"Hmmm, what kind of place is this? Is this a house? " the pinkette seemed pleased by that thought. "Monkey-kun, Are we going to your house?" I chuckled, but then was struck by a thought..

'She doesn't even know my name.' I guess I was still coming to terms with the suddenness of all of this and I'm sure she was too. But in that we also shared a similarity. We had both been anticipating this moment our whole lives. I turned to my new companion and I took her by the hand. "It's called a 'Love Hotel', it's where couples go when they want to make love in private." I stroked the back of her hand and she reddened instantly and started blabbering. I led to our room and opened the door. "Eh, not bad."

Indeed the western aesthetic continued.

A large king sized bed, bathtub and shower combo, flat screen television and most importantly, a wifi router. I walked to the bed and gently lowered Haihane onto it. I turned to talk to Benitsubasa when I noticed something. Haihane, who was supposed to be still unconscious was as flushed in the face as Benitsubasa was moments ago. 'Well I know that one way to test it is a sternum rub, but that hurts, so instead why don't we...'

I lunged and jammed my fingers lightly into the emo sekirei's ribs. Thankfully the uncontrollable giggling confirmed what I had thought and I wasn't just tickling an unconscious person with blood poisoning. I continued the torture for a few moments before I relented. Haihane's arms fell back limply and she stared up at me from the bed.

"Hitching a free ride huh? Making me worry for you? You're a sneaky one girly, I'll have to keep an eye out of you!" I waggled my finger and she turned her head away from me. Her heavy white locks covered most of her face, but I could still hear her whispering something under her breath. Something she apparently wasn't comfortable sharing. I left her alone.

"Oh, Q-Tip is awake? When did that happen?" The Red Sekirei asked, sitting on the edge of the bed and leaning back on her arms. I answered as I undid my boots and tugged off my socks.

"Apparently long enough for her to get a free piggy back ride." I walked into the bathroom and stripped off my new shirt.

"Huh?"

"Ask her." I called back into the room as I undid my belt, dropping my BDU pants on the floor and then dumping them in the nearby trashcan. Definitely trash, they were ripped, torn and shot full of holes. Plus, I didn't think I'd be needing a M.B.I. uniform anymore. I fished a shoulder cast out of my inventory and slapped it over my broken bones, the Broken Bone status removed. I sagged and breathed a sigh of relief. It has been agony, moving around with a broken collar bone, but I had managed. In fact it was tolerable! 'Damn I'm badass.' I commented, staring at myself in the mirror, well more like I had become extremely familiar with pain over this life. Or maybe it was something else. I set my hand against the glowing crystal around my chest.

"Brings comfort, huh?" The soul stone was warm and almost pulsed with energy. I frowned, first for one reason, then another. 'Damn, I'm filthy too.' Indeed I was, streaks of dried blood and various other unidentifiable bodily fluids were bedecked all over my body. I looked into the bath and whistled. It was big and it was luxurious.

It wasn't western themed like the rest of the room, but it was setup instead more in a manner akin to Japanese sensibilities.. It was a wet room, with a drain in the center of the floor, a spray nozzle on a hose and a large soaking bath. Although unlike most Japanese baths it also featured a waterfall shower in the corner, directly above the tile bench. I headed for the shower and cranked the water pressure and temperature up to max. I stuck my hand in the water to test the temperature. It felt good, just below scalding which is how I liked it.

Satisfied with the temperature, I slipped my thumbs into my underwear's elastic band and slid them off. It was only when I heard the gasps behind me that I realized that I had forgotten to close the divider.

"Wha-what-what the hell are you doing?" My sekirei shrieked, hiding her eyes behind her hands, though I noticed that her hands were blatantly splayed, so it's not like she was actually doing much to stop herself from peeping. Haihane however wasn't even pretending to not look, she was leaning forward, shamelessly oogling my backside.

"Taking a shower, if you haven't noticed, I'm smelling pretty ripe. You know," I turned my head to face them. "you're welcome to join me if you want." I turned back away from them, "Not saying you smell bad or anything...."

"WHAT?" "Ok." Two voices spoke at once, one over-the-top and the other deadpan. "Wait, what?" Benitsubasa whipped her head around, but Haihane had already stood and was undoing the leather belts that crossed her waist.

"That's my ashikabi, you can't just...!" I ignored their quarreling. I had a feeling that this would be a common occurrence. Better get used to it.

But that was for later, the warm water called to me, so I put all thoughts of future harem management aside and stepped into the stall. It felt great. All the sweat and blood from the day's misadventures, down the drain. A nice hot soak would of been even better, but still, sublime. I leaned forward and rested my head against the cold tile.

I knew that M.B.I. had chipped the girls, though I didn't know to what extent they were able track them. If they were, it would have to be a satellite. based system, or maybe radio signals. Though I doubted the second as radio signals were almost impossible to track in an urban environment.

Either way, the particular hotel that I had chosen had a unique geographical feature that I hoped would help. The entire building was located under an elevated light rail bridge, full of steel, concrete and charged electrical lines. Theoretically, hopefully, maybe, it would be enough to mask the signal. I don't know, I had moved under the bridge for a while, hopefully they lost us.

'Well whatever, It's the best I could do on short notice.' I had already ditched my cellphone, though losing that would be a pain in my ass. As for other tracking methods, if they had biometric recognition monitoring on the city's traffic cameras, there really wasn't much I could do.

It was about the time when I was lathering up my hair with the hotel's provided that I detected the presence of someone behind me. 'Oh ho? I wonder who the forward one is?' I cackled to myself and rinsed my hair. My eyes closed, someone's arm rubbed against my side, reaching for the soap I presume.

I shuddered with the touch. It took all I had to keep my cool and even then part of me couldn't believe this was happening. I rinsed my hair fully then moved out of the stream and wiped the water out of my eyes. I smirked and turned around. "Want me to wash your ba-ah-ah?"

My mouth hung open like a dullard as I drank in the sight before me. Expecting something and experiencing it are often times two completely different things. Both Benitsubasa and Haihane stood before me completely nude. For all my big talk, nothing could of prepared for this. Sure I had seen plenty of women naked over my lives, I would even consider myself an expert connoisseur, if such a thing existed.

However, nothing could compare to the sensual display of seeing these two women bare before me. As I had said earlier that day, they were perfect. Without blemish. Proportionately impeccable, it was impossible to look at them and mistake them for human women.

I had thought Minaka was insane for going on about how the sekirei were gods, but I could definitely understand why somebody would look at them and assume that. Benitsubasa held her arms around her chest, embarrassment obvious on her face. Haihane on the other hand, seemed not to care at all, rubbing the liquid soap onto her breasts and toned stomach with abandon. Both women were thin, but while Benitsubasa was shorter than Haihane, her muscles were a lot more defined as well. She just oozed potential violence, though somehow she still managed to come off incredibly sexy and feminine as well. Her small tits, while hidden behind her arms, were still pronounced enough to give her body a distinctly womanly shape and her amazingly thick thighs accentuated that fact as well. Haihane on the other hand, was much thinner and about three inches taller. Her limbs were slender and graceful and her thighs were much less muscular. Her beautiful breasts, with small light pink capped nipples, looked to be about a C-cup, a nice handful and a little extra to go. She had gotten her hair wet and for the first time I realized that she wore it long in the back.

Seeing these absolute nymphs, I was unsurprised to feel my blood start to rush to my crotch. I smiled at both of them and gestured that they could take my place under the head.

"Beni-chan, do you want me to wash your back?" I tried to play it cool, but inside I was at a loss, 'I mean what did I expect to happen though! I was joking about them joining me!'

"Can you please wash mine?" Haihane's deadpan delivery really clashed with the the feeling she was giving me.

"He asked me first!" Benitsubasa protested grabbing my hand and leading me over to the bench. I let her deposit me on it before pointing out the obvious.

"You're gonna need fo be wet first, right?"

"Of course!" she nearly pushed Haihane out of the way in her rush to get under the shower. While she did that, I lathered up a wash cloth with soap, making sure to enjoy the sight of her amazing butt while I did. When she returned to me I had her turn around and sit on a little shower stool while I scrubbed her back. Part of me couldn't believe this was happening! I had known these two amazingly sexy women for less than a few hours and we were already doing this together!

'It's times like these that I remember that I did reincarnate into an Ecchi series after all.' I let the wash cloth fall to one finger and traced Benitsubasa's neckline with my bare skin. Perhaps unsurprisingly, she leaned into my touch. All of a sudden I was beset by a foreign feeling of contentment that didn't feel entirely native to me.

Contentment, nervousness and... love? Whatever it was, it was incredible! The sheer depth of that feeling made me pause for a second to catch my breath. While I WAS feeling those things, they didn't feel at all the same, or the intensity of them didn't. That being said though, while they felt completely alien to me, that didn't mean that they felt like they didn't belong!Almost like when I interacted with Killer Queen, it felt like I was discovering a new part of myself. One that I never knew existed.

'Is this...?' It had to be! I searched 'deeper' and found something else, a special feeling, a presence.

The satisfied feeling of a fist connecting with a competent opponent's face. Playfulness with a hint of cruelty. An ember about to catch fire. The smell of cherries and cinnamon.

This was Benitsubasa.

I could feel her. Not like telepathy or anything of that sort, but just a general awareness of emotions. If I focused on it, it became clearer and clearer, if I didn't, it faded into just a vauge awareness of her presence. It was comforting in a way that I had never known.

So intimate, it was absurd to imagine being without. 'She could also see Killer Queen, does that have something to do with it? On just what level are we linked now? The stand is a spiritual presence, which implies that we are linked on a supernatural level. Soul-binding?'

I pondered these thoughts as I unconsciously moved to start doing my sekirei's hair and well, lathering up her pink locks with the shampoo the hotel provided. I gently massaged the soap into her scalp and the Red Sekirei cooed in pleasure.

It was then, when my hands were occupied that Haihane silently inserted herself next to me. Her wet alabaster skin glistened with drops of water and her creamy colored thighs made contact with my own.

"Heh, I'll do yours in a second. Just let me finish doing Beni's hair first." I grinned, but she seemed to ignore what I said.

"I cannot stop this." she looked at me, for the first time both eyes revealed, her eye shadow long gone. "It is inevitable." She got on her knee and rested her hands on my nude chest, leaning forward to capture my lips with her own, which caused her breasts to swing forward.

Her kiss was gentle, unlike Benitsubasa's had been. Whatever tenuous control I had over my lower half's condition evaporated then and there. As her tongue tenatively swiped across mine and pale silvery grey wings burst from her back. She shuddered. bucking against me and I steadied her until she stopped rocking. When she regained her composure she looked at me deeply and spoke her incantation. "Wire claws of my pledge tear apart the guards imprisoning my ashikabi." She pressed her breasts to my arm. "Sekirei-104, Haihane, I am yours."

"New Companion Added: Haihane has joined the party!"

It was then that I felt another pack of emotions and feelings that manifested themselves in whatever space that these newly discovered sensations were kept.

Cold steel. A lazy day in bed. Hidden bloodlust. Indifference to the real world. A childlike love of the fantastical. Cloves and fresh cut sage.

I traced my finger along Haihane's jaw and brought her in for another kiss, which brought her wings emerging out her back again. Curious, I waved my hand through one of them and encountered no resistance.

"Hmmph!" An unamused grunted and I released my lips from Haihane's the girl sagging against my side in bliss.

"Don't worry Beni-chan, you'll always be my first." I grabbed the fighter under her arms and spun her around before plopping her on my lap with a squawk.

Facing me, she instinctively raised her hands and caught herself on my shoulders. Finally her cute little breasts were available for me to view! 'Sometimes, flat is justice!' I wisely intoned, smiling at her overwhelmed expression. "Hey there, don't worry, there's enough for you too." I kissed her before she could say anything. Her pink wings appeared out of her back as I hugged her close to me.

I was learning that it was better to strike first when it came to dealing with the Red Sekirei.

Our lower halves continued to kiss after I let her lips go, her hot kitty resting against the base of my iron rod. Haihane leaned against me and rested her head on my shoulder. I let go of the still breathless pinkette and put my arm around the taller girls waist.

Sometimes, it's nice to be me.

Later after we had all finished up, I laid on the bed surrounded by my Sekirei. We were all wearing the complimentary fluffy bath robes that the hotel provided. Both girls were snuggling into my sides and I was having a hard time resisting the desire to escalate this situation into a full blown hentai scene. The feelings of love and joy filtering in through our newfound bond wasn't helping either.

"Hrhmm," I sat up and cleared my throat. "Team Meeting."

"For what?" Benitsubasa grumbled as she and Haihane reluctantly let go and sat up, the oversized robes falling open to reveal tantalizing bits of skin. Haihane didn't say anything, merely staring at me intently.

"Well for starters, how about introductions? Give your name and your likes and dislikes." Yes, I was going there. Benitsubasa crossed her arms in thought and Haihane just continued to stare at me. Eventually though Benitsubasa figured out what she wanted to say.

"The Red Sekirei, 105, the beautiful, powerful, Benitsusbasa!" She dropped into a typical karate stance and threw a one two combination. It didn't look that threatening when you were kneeling on a bouncy mattress, dressed in a cotton bath robe. I played it up anyways, clapping and whistling as she preened under my praise.

"Beautiful indeed! Now, likes and dislikes." At my prompting, she scrunched up her brow in a show of heavy concentration, going so far as to hold a hand against the side of her head.

"Um, I like," after a tick, her face lit up and she punched one balled fist into the other, "crushing weaklings!" she finished with a wide grin.

"And?"

"And...Karasuba! I hate her! And...needles and Doctors and weaklings and swimming!"

"Uh, ok." She picked up on my confusion, confusing it herself with mockery. 

"You think that's stupid don't you!" she accused, pointing at me in anger. 

"No, no. I'm just surprised you don't like swimming. Didn't M.B.I. ever teach you how?"

"Yeah, I can't swim! Fine! Are you happy?" She gripped the front my robe and easily lifted me off the bed.

"They did teach us, Washboard-chan was too busy picking fights to learn." Haihane helpfully supplied. 

'Jeeze, Beni-chan sure has a nasty little attitude on her. I'll have to be careful not to set her off too much.'

"I am happy, because it means I'll get to teach you myself." I said, figuring how to best get through the thick layers of tsun-tsun effectively. It worked too, as I was unceremoniously dropped back onto the bed.

"Fine! If you say so, I'll let you show me." Hands on her hips, Benitsubasa sat back down and crossed her arms again. Without any prompting, Haihane began.

"Haihane No. 104. I like video games. I dislike insects." She informed us concisely. I waited for her to continue, but she didn't offer anything else.

"That's nice Haihane-"

"Psh, typical albino. How boring!" Benitsubasa interrupted me to badger the other sekirei. "It's my turn Pinky" I lightly karate chopped the back of her head. Rubbing her head where I had chopped her, she glared at me.

"Ow! How the hell are so strong anyways!" Her eyes widened as she seemed to remember something, "Oh and that ghost! What the-" "Anyways-" I tried to continue only to be interrupted from the other end.

"Gh-ghosts! I don't like ghosts either!" Now it was Haihane's turn to interrupt me and she quickly held a pillow to her chest, "They're scary!"

"It's not..."

"BWAHAHAHAHA" I was interrupted a third time by Benitsubasa's cackles that had her falling onto her back, pointing at the other girl. "Have you looked in the mirror?"

She probably would of said more but a pillow sailed through the air and bonked her in the face.

"Shut up you brain dead piece of jailbait, you're just too stupid to be scared!" Haihane sneered while rising to her knees.

"Oh yeah? Apparently you're too stupid to live! I'm not scared of anything!" Benitsubasa snarled and balled up her fists. Haihane leaned forward and the shorter girl quickly leapt to meet her. The two pressed their foreheads together, pushing back and forth.

"Anything huh? You dislike Karasuba? Please, you are terrified of her!"

"Scared! You didn't even do anything to save our ashikabi when that witch threw him out a window! Then you were passed out, lame, lame, lame!" Beni-chan's tongue found its way out of her mouth, sticking out as she mocked the bigger woman.

"Stop." I tried interjecting , but they continued as if I hadn't even spoken.

"I didn't even know he was my ashikabi! Meanwhile you were busy getting your butt thrown through a wall! Probably because you're so aerodynamic..."

"Bitch, I'll kill you!" Benitsubasa put her hands around Haihane's throat and the the other woman held her arms out in claws.

"Try it!"

"ENOUGH!" Unknowingly on how exactly I accomplished it, Killer Queen materialized and grabbed the bickering aliens by their ankles, hoisting them up into the air. Thankfully the sudden appearance of my stand and their successful capture finally succeeded in shutting the pair up!

It also caused their robes to fall up over their heads, exposing their lower halves for my perverted viewing pleasure. Both women shrieked in surprise but it was Haihane who verbalized the first coherent thought.

Pushing the clothing blocking her vision up so she could see. "What the hell is that?" Haihane demanded, nearly hyperventilating.

"That's our ashikabi's ghost, duh." Benitsubasa blindly smacked Killer Queen with her fist only to recoil and shake her hand. "What the hell is this thing made out of?"

'Hmm, I guess the rules are the same, only a Stand can hurt another Stand. Or was it Stand users?' I honestly couldn't remember, though when Benitsubasa curled her body up and started to peel Killer Queen's fingers off her ankle. 'I guess it's as not as strong as a sekirei.' I could actually feel my Stands strength be tested and fail to hold. 'Like it's MY muscles fighting against her. Interesting.'

"A ghost?" Haihane whispered and I noted the poor girl was actually shivering. I felt bad, so I gently lowered them both back to the bed.

"Are you two done fighting?" I asked as they tugged their robes down. Benitsubasa frowned but nodded. Haihane was still staring wide eyed at Killer Queen, that had returned to kneeling behind me.

"Fine. Ya, know, you never really explained this crazy 'spirit animal'," she put the word in air quotes as if she wasn't fully buying it.

"I was about too but I kept getting interrupted!" I dressed her down before turning to the white faced Blue Sekirei and grabbing her hand. "Haihane, Killer Queen isn't a ghost, it's just a part of me. It's a psychic manifestation of my fighting spirit." I turned to address both of them again. "It's called a Stand."

"So it's not a ghost?"

"No, and it's name is Killer Queen."

"It's name is Killer Queen?", "But why is it a cat?" Both of them spoke over each other again and I rolled my eyes.

"Anyways, as I was going to say, before I was so rudely interrupted, AGAIN!. My name is Nobe Sogen. I am 25 years old and was born in Daisen, which is a small village north of here." My heart leapt as I saw the delight on my Sekirei's faces when I told them their Ashikabi's name. Benitsubasa smiled and Haihane mouthed my name. I smiled at the simple emotions they expressed in that moment. It made me feel...things. "I like both videogames and fighting. As well as working out, cooking and beautiful women." I made sure to look at them both and waggled my eyebrows. "I dislike-"

"Small breasts." Haihane deadpanned and I had to work hard to not snort. I could sense a proximity bomb set to blow if I didn't tread carefully.

"No, I dislike being told how to live my life. I loathe people that would try to steal from me." I made sure to emphasize that last one. Both of them shifted nervously. "Now, do either of you have any questions? I feel like this is a good time to get to know each other, so I'll answer whatever you want."

That was undeniably true. I had known of these two girls all my life but that didn't mean that I actually knew them. We were bound at a spiritual level, or at least that is what the evidence suggested. Or that what I did know that was actually right?

'Those "super-sekirei", no way I would of forgotten those.. Which means that this world is not exactly the same. Which means I shouldn't assume anything for granted.' Knowing that made me nervous. What else was going on that I had no foreknowledge of? This wasn't the butterfly effect, I expected as such. No, these were a giant gorillas appearing out of nowhere where I knew there should be none.

"I have a question," Haihane began, "Why did you come back for us? You escaped from Karasuba, but you came back." Well that was an awkward question. One that I hadn't expected.

"Well, I knew that you were sekirei and I wanted to wing you before someone else did." I paused before adding a more damning piece of evidence. "In truth I have been waiting a long time to meet you and I wasn't going to let anyone get in my way."

"I don't understand, a long time? But we just met, wait! That's right though! You knew Benitsubasa's name! How? Did you work on Kamikura?" the white haired girl questioned and after looking confused for a moment, Benitsubasa nodded her agreement.

Dammit, she's smarter than I thought.

'Good thing I wasn't planning on lying. Much.', "She's right! I never even told you my name!" the girl in question chimed in. I debated employing a lie. 'Why though? It's be like lying to myself!' I frowned for a second, thinking through that realization. All evidence pointed to us literally being joined at a spiritual level. "How old are you two?" The sudden question from me caught them off guard.

"I'm 18." Benitsubasa supplied and Haihane echoed it. I nodded in confirmation.

"The the truth is I've known about you since before you were before. Since before I was born, I knew you." I said with as much sincerity as I could convey." I guaged their reactions. Haihane looked interested and Benitsubasa, well Benitsubasa looked confused. Exicited? Mostly the latter.

"Ashikabi-kun, that...seems crazy." Haihane carefully stated, "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, this isn't my first life." I let that sink in for a moment before continuing, "I died and was reborn again in this world. But in the world I lived in before, I read stories about you two and well, when I found myself here, I made it my goal to meet you." It was probably one of the hardest things I had done in either life, getting that small amount of words out.

But at the same time, after it was done, I felt like a titanic weight was lifted off my back. I thought the explanation sounded simple enough. Though seeing the reaction in their faces, well maybe not.

"Wait, you died? Er, how?" Haihane inquired, obviously trying to be as respectful as possible, meanwhile Benitsubasa was just staring off into space while muttering something.

"Car Accident. I died young I guess, I remember that much, a lot of the rest has faded though. I don't even remember my old name." I laughed softly while running a hand nervously through my hair, Haihane held up her hand, as if she wanted to ask a question.

"Go ahead Haihane-chan, you don't need to raise your hand. I wanted to tell you guys everything, because there are somethings that won't make sense otherwise."

"Like your 'Stand'?" she asked and I nodded. "Do all humans reincarnate like you did?"

"I don't know," I shrugged, "but I doubt it, or at least they don't remember details of their past lives."

"IT'S FATE!" Benitsubasa suddenly squealed while clasping her hands and wriggling back and forth like a lovestruck schoolgirl. "My ashikabi darling beat death itself to be with me! Oohhh, oh!" For a second I thought she was going to swoon, but instead latched herself onto my arm like a angry pitbull. Through our bond I could feel an overwhelming level of affection coming from the unstable girl and...

"Bond Up!: Benitsubasa"

'That's certainly interesting.' I would have to look into it later but for now, I patted her on the head affectionately. It was clear that she didn't care about my bizarre past. It was enough that we were together. My eye suddenly felt moist at the corner and I quickly wiped away the irritant.

Haihane on the other hand... Our budding bond showed me confusion and curiosity in equal measure.

"But how does that explain your weird powers? Like how you survived going through a window, or being smashed apart." She had a good point, Buddha probably never anticipated a New Game+ scenario when it came to life.

"Well it's because I was born in this world with a certain set of special powers." I sighed as I attempted to explain the absurd.  ' Oh boy, if she didn't think I was crazy before...' I cleared my throat.

"I live like I'm a video game character?" I knew that wasn't supposed to be a question but that's how it came out. More confusion.

"What? A video game character? What do you mean?" Haihane stared at me expectantly.

'Hmm.'

"Menu" The floating screen appeared in its usual place. Raising a hand, I pointed to the interface.

"Can you see that?"

"See what? The ghost?" She asked and I raised my eyebrow.

'They can't see the Game? That's interesting.' "No, not Killer Queen, uh nevermind " I waved my hand. "Look. Basically I gain strength through completing tasks and defeating enemies, which gains me 'levels'. Every ten levels and I gain a new ability. I can also specialize in 'Jobs' which can grant me abilities as well." She still looked skeptical and I felt as much being expressed. "Ok, I know this sounds crazy but I can prove it too you. Watch."

I held out my hand and suddenly as pair of brown leather gloves appeared in my hand, seemingly from nowhere. Of course I knew where they had come from, my inventory, but it appeared to be magic to outside observers.

"Where did those come from?" Haihane wondered, her eyes wide, and I grinned before gently shaking awareness back into Benitsubasa, who was still nuzzling my shoulder.

"Hey, Benitsubasa-chan, I have a present for you." I whispered into my lovelies' ear. Almost immediately she shot upright and bounced excitedly.

"A present! Ah, ashikabi-kun! You shouldn't of!" She had the good graces to look embarrassed, just for a moment, before she snatched them out of my hands and inspected them.

"What was that?" Haihane pointed at my now empty hand.

"My inventory." I materialized and de-materialized a box of orange juice, then materialized a tin of biscuits and tossed them to her." I can store any object as long as I can carry it. No living objects though, not without killing them, but plants are ok."

"It's-"

"Just like a game." I finished for her. Meanwhile Benitsubasa, who had been looking over her new gloves, gave me hug.

"I love them, I love them, I love them! Thank you, Monkey-kun! I'll keep them forever, even if they're ugly, I swear!" Her eyes gleamed and she clutched the hand wear to her chest 

"Ugly?" I looked at the plain brown leather gloves. I mean they were a bit utilitarian and they didn't match with her outfit, but they didn't look that bad.

"Not pink." She helpfully supplied. I rolled my eyes.

"Ok, well try them on anyways, there's a spell that is supposed to make you stronger attached to it."

"Spell? Like a old nasty wizard made these?" The Red Sekirei crinkled her nose in disgust as she tugged the tight fitting garments on. "Maybe that's why they smell like the inside of a- oh wow!"

Oh wow indeed, much to my surprise as much as anyone elses, as soon as both gloves were fully seated on her finger tips, they glowed bright white and seemed to melt and flow over her hands. I averted my eyes and when I looked back I noticed the gloves had changed their appearance. No longer brown and roughspun, they had shifted their appearance to match her old ones. Now they looked like dark pink lightly padded MMA gloves with a double set of padded collars around the wrist.

Really the only noticeable difference was a big white "+" on the back of the glove. "Wow! I take it back, these are AWESOME!" Benitsubasa, turned her hand over to admire her new gloves.

"Huh. I did not know they did that." I deadpanned, Haihane must of noticed my confusion because she asked me about it.

"Honestly, I don't know much about the 'System', sometimes there's not much explanation of what things do or don't do." I shrugged.

"That sounds annoying, a game is always best when it comes with a manual." Haihane intoned as if that was some deep wisdom. I snorted at her reverence.

"Yeah, well 25 years of living with this crap I can't say I disagree." It was true. R.O.B. was a mysterious bastard.

"What else does it do? Do you have to complete quests and earn experience? Do you level up?" Haihane asked as Benitsubasa slid off the bed and threw a few test punches.

"Yes, though the quests are kind of sporadic and usually worthless. I do level up, right now I'm at level 38."

"Hey Monkey-kun, why do I feel weird, like lighter all of a sudden?" Benitsubasa called to me while staring at her gloves in wonderment.

"It's the gloves Red, they give +10 to your strength."

"Oh awesome! Those weaklings don't stand a chance now!" She cackled and began shadow boxing at speeds that I still couldn't keep up with.

"Please don't break anything." I implored, but if she heard, she didn't respond.

"So can you see other people's levels and stats too?" Haihane placed her hand on her chest. I nodded. "Can you see mine?"

'Well might as well, Observe'

"Name: Haihane - Sekirei 104

Level: 63

Title: The Blue Sekirei

Race: Ssatho'Alopewii (Sekirei) - Winged

Age: 18

Karma: 65

Affiliation: Sekirei of Nobe Sogen

Emotional State: Excited about learning about her Ashikabi's abilities.

HP: 415,800

SP: 945,000

>CBL: 1

>STR: 61 (+5)

>CON: 35 (+5)

>STA: 55 (+5)

>DEX: 95 (+5)

>INT: 11 (+5)

>WIS: 9 (+5)

>PER: 50(+5)"

"Huh." I said and Haihane leaned forward.

"Huh what? Is there something wrong with me?"

"Oh no, you're still the same level, 63, but you're stronger now that your winged." I also noted the new variable "CBL" being added and the "Threat Level" being removed. Something to look into later. 

"Oh, oh, do me!" Benitsubasa was suddenly clasping my hand and brought it to rest on her chest.

"Eh, I don't need to touch you, you know?" The feel of her little breast was oh so soft under my palm.

"Well I wanted you to so it's okay right?" We both blushed and I cleared my throat.

"Yeah, maybe later." I activated the Observe ability. "Wow." Where Haihane was modified by +5, Benitsubasa was +10! 

"Name: Benitsubasa - Sekirei 105

Level: 65

Title: The Red Sekirei

Race: Ssatho'Alopewii (Sekirei) - Winged

Age: 18

Karma: 22

Affiliation: Sekirei of Nobe Sogen

Emotional State: Craving her Ashikabi's love.

HP: 739,375

SP: 897,812

>CBL: 2

>STR: 81 (+20)

>CON: 40 (+10)

>STA: 55 (+10)

>DEX: 75 (+10)

>INT: 8 (+10)

>WIS: 6 (+10)

>PER: 60 (+10)"

"Wow, you guys are amazing." I slid my hand inside Benitsubasa's robe and groped her breast. Her body shivered under my touch and I hungrily slid the robe off her shoulders. I licked my lips as I drank in her petite radiance "Gods, you are beautiful."

A pair of slender pale arms wrapped around me from behind and I turned and kissed Haihane over my shoulder letting our tongues intertwine passionately as we frenched. Killer Queen had disappeared somewhere and instead I felt two stiff peaks gently scrape against my back. My other sekirei was on her knees and embracing me from behind.

This had been coming since that erotic shower we had shared together. "This isn't really what I meant by "get to know one another" , I mumbled into her mouth."

"Too bad, you started this," I felt hands pulling the draw string of my robe and pulling it apart. "Taking your innocent sekirei to a 'love hotel', you knew what you wanted." Her bold declaration would of meant a lot more if her hands weren't trembling so much.

"Oh and what did I want Benitsubasa?" I leaned forward and let it all hang out. The series of faces Benitsubasa made would of made for funny viral video, or perhaps a porno blooper reel.

"Y-you want to ha-have se, se-" She had lost steam, whatever courage she had mustered fled over the sight of my manhood. She gulped. "You-" I kissed her quivering lips.

"Shhh, enough." I leaned forward and gently lowered her to the bed. "Let me take care of everything.

And I did.

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Earlier that day...

Matsu banged her head against her computer's keyboard in an physical expression of the frustration she was feeling. 'Almost a month and I'm no closer to solving this.'

It had been actually over a month since she and Uzume had escaped from Kamikura Island with a stolen jinki and she was no closer to uncovering the reason that Takehito-sensei had asked her to do so than she was then!

She recalled at the time that it was the first time in almost a year that she had seen the scientist, as far as she knew, he had retired from M.B.I but apparently that assumption was incorrect. She had assumed that he had disappeared the same as Number 01, who had also vanished around the same time to, somewhere.Or at least that is what she had been able to put together from snippets of gossip the various guards let slip around her.

Then, out of the blue she had ran into him at the main compound, having been released from confinement years ago. In recent years she had been allowed to roam the island compound mostly unsupervised, her lacking physical attributes making her danger of flight very unlikely. She knew that M.B.I. had her chipped, so they it's not like they wouldn't know if she was trying to high tail it.

Unlike Kazehana, who had simply disappeared one day, flying away in a dramatic gust of wind, she didn't have any real means to leave. Or any desire either.

After all, she was allowed online again and was promised continuing access if she refrained from attempting to enter restricted M.B.I. systems. And she was also required to provide her cyber espionage services when the Security Service requested them.

Even if she had wanted to leave, how? Her powers allowed her to interface with data and visualize it in a way that made sense to her. She couldn't interact, edit or add to that data. So she was not capable of say, falsifying orders to escort her off the island, but she could steal passwords to forge an email to do so physically, problem was, the staff all used ID Common Access Cards to login to computers, so that was out. But even so, even if she could trick her way out, as long as Karasuba and new Disciplinary Squad were around, there was no point.

She knew her physical strength was pathetic for one of her kind.

She wouldn't stand a chance. It's not like she hadn't wanted to escape, even envying Kazehana for her ability to do so. Over the long years of her captive life, she had come to resent M.B.I and the current status quo. Years of attempted brainwashing and being treated like property would tend to do that to you.

Maybe it was being able to access the internet and form mental concepts about "universal individual rights" and "enculturated captivity" that had helped her develop an unique perspective amongst her peers. Even worse, she knew that they were partially right.

She was 28 years old and everyday she felt every one of those years. The yearning. The true nature of her lonely existence. Following their plans would eventually allow her to complete herself and find her destined one. At first she had resented that concept, thought it for lies. But she could feel it in her very being now, the truth. It had become a burning need the longer it went unfulfilled. Perhaps that was why she found solace in the lewder corners of the net, entertaining fantasies and fetishes to distract herself from her decades long slow torture. She had long ago reached maturity. The sexual distractions were just that, distractions. She knew that they would never fill the ever widening hole in her heart! But the calculus had not been there. There was no solution to her completeness.

So she had waited. Biological clock ticking down to detonation.

Until Takehito-sensei had appeared out of the blue one day and made a request of her. There had been something dangerous going on at M.B.I. Strange and unpredictable power fluctuations. Chatter about major experiments on the internal clearnet chat services. A strange feeling of nascent ambient energy that had suddenly pervaded the facility. The same energy had left her feeling weak and lesser than she should. 

During these strange times, Takehito, who had left over a year prior had reappeared and handed her a sealed box. He had asked her to do something for him, as a favor. To take the box with her and go to a certain dock at a certain time. When she asked why her he had only smiled.

"Because I know I can trust you." That was the only explanation he had given. He wouldn't even tell her what was in the box, or why he needed her in particular to get it out. He explained that his wife, which of course was news to her, would meet her once she reached the main land and shepard her to the Inn he owned in Shinto Teito.

She had been suspicious, but he had implored to her, saying that it was vitally important and if she didn't do it, well, nobody wanted to see Minaka get what he wanted right?

"These object's have the potential for great and terrible things when they are together. Let's take that away." He had cryptically stated. She had agreed. Perhaps it was because he had been the only one of the staff to ever of actually seemed to care about the sekirei.

She owed him that at least, for a tiny bit of kindness in a lifetime of neglect could mean the world to someone! He would send her a message when it was time. All she had to do was get to the boat. It's not like she hadn't already wanted this, the itch to escape the confines of M.B.I.'s prison had been unbearable by this point, he merely provided an opportunity.

"How will I get around the guards? The cameras? My tracker implant won't just turn off you know?" she had asked.

"Matsu, you're always worrying." He placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Everything will work out." he had replied with a sad smile.

Shamefully, she had hoped to feel a reaction within her, so desperate for another's touch. But it wasn't meant to be. So it was, alarms blaring and distant explosions tearing through the facility, she had sprinted through the halls, blitzing past the guards and confused sekirei. She might of been weak for a sekirei, but she was still miles above what peak human performance could achieve. She could do nothing but trust in Takehito-sensei's plan.

It was only chance that she had run into a confused Uzume, whom she had grabbed and pulled along with her. The girl was her only friend and she had seized the chance when it was presented to her. Selfish of her, but she didn't think Uzume would mind.

It was total chaos. At some point, the power had been lost, throwing the corridors and labs into darkness. The magnetic locks had failed as well, allowing every sekirei out of their dormitories and even into the usually off limit areas. Furthermore, her sisters and brothers were acting strangely, some attacking everything around them and others wandering listlessly. She didn't know what was affecting them, but it was absolute bedlam!

Uzume had been confused, but had seemed more than happy to be led out of the mass riot that had broken out, even helping to easily subdue some guards that had half heartedly tried to stop them. In the end they had managed to reach the docks mostly unmolested and just as promised, there was a boat waiting for them. And after a long, miserably cold, boat ride, they arrived in Japan, a thin elegantly dressed figure welcoming them as they disembarked.

It turned out Takehito's wife was none other that Number 01, Miya! The strongest sekirei! Playing housewife and propieter at her husband's inn! It was almost inconceivable. She had taken the both of them to the "Izumo Inn", assuring them that M.B.I. would not move against them while they were under her roof. Matsu had been exhilarated to be in a new place! Uzume too! They had never been somewhere that was so well different! The city, Shinto Teito was amazing! Of course Matsu, considered it much more sensible to tour the locale through the safety of the local intranets, but Uzume has set out almost at once, despite the misgivings of Matsu and their host. Her younger sister was not one to let a chance to experience something new pass her by. 

Coincidentally, it turned out that they wouldn't be the first Sekirei to have been housed under the Izumo roof, Miya casually mentioning that Kazehana was currently staying there as well. Though she also mentioned that the wind Sekirei was prone to long periods of absence from said premises.

However, those promising times, the first taste of freedom Matsu had experienced, were all set to end before they ever truly began. Miya had been expecting her husband home. But when a one day delay turned to two, then three, then a phone call that left the newly widowed strongest sekirei inconsolable, it was obvious to everyone that something incredibly bad had happened.

Things were hairy for a bit after that. Miya, who before had been a cheerful, though if strict host, had been taken by severe melancholy and prone to breaking into fits of black rage. Matsu couldn't understand how exactly she had survived her Ashikabi's demise, but perhaps termination would of been preferable.

Uzume had made herself scarce and Matsu wished she could do the same. But she wasn't strong enough to risk leaving the protective bubble of Miya's presence. Not that the first sekirei was in a protective mood, but her territory was still her territory. The inn's attic has become her's. She didn't know if M.B.I. was still able to track her location, or was even still interested in actively looking for her, but she bet her ass that they were still searching for what she had stolen.

A little creative financial reconnaissance had netted her enough resources to purchase enough of an equipment setup to keep her entertained. It had been fun explaining to the half delusional with grief and technological backwards Miya why it was necessary to run fiber optic lines for internet into the Inn.

So she had found herself in another cage, this one of her own construction, a captured princess protecting a priceless relic. As for the mysterious item in question, she had managed to work up the courage to open the case a few days into her new living situation. The moment she had opened the case and glimpsed what was inside a word had entered her mind.

"Jinki."

That was the name of the softly glowing crystal she had unwittingly smuggled off of the island. A small ball of red material contained within, the crystal itself was engraved with the number 8. Gazing upon the device left her with an itch at the back of her skull, but other than the name, no other information came to her. The one time she had worked up the nerve to touch the arcane object, it had resulted in a splitting headache that had lasted for the better part of a day.

Obviously it was not meant for use by sekirei.

Her tasked purpose complete, she had had to find a way to pass the time until the plan begun. Though, would she even be allowed to find her ashikabi? Would M.B.I. capture and punish her? Scrap her and consign to a life of tortuous loneliness? These thoughts gnawed at her constantly.

Her only escape being browsing the internet, casual voyeurism and porn.

Lots and lots of porn.

Matsu masturbated frequently and she wasn't ashamed to admit so. Neither was she ashamed to admit she was a massive pervert. it was something she had grown into truly after her puberty adjustment.

Probably didn't help that she had a near perfect memory to recall every fetish, kink and perversion she encountered. Though she still had her favorites....

'Will they think I'm disgusting?' She had thought that a lot. Would her ashikabi reject her eccentricities? Her degeneracy? She didn't believe in the "Destined One" nonsense that Kazehana had been so fond of pushing, but there had to be someone out there for her.... '

For all of us? Poor Kazehana, see how that worked out for her. No, better to stay hidden away.' A month later and the woman still had yet to show her face. "Probably because she busy drowning it in booze."

Miya had mentioned a lingering smell....

Back in the present, she finished her tantrum and scooted her keyboard out of her reach. "Might as well check the 'chans." She distracted herself with some internet spelunking, hopefully she could find some rabbit hole to fall into.

M.B.I. was always a popular topic of discussion amongst the conspiracy minded forums. The theories surrounding the company, Minaka-sensei and the Kamikura Island incident were always good fodder for entertainment. Though sometimes, they ended up being eerily accurate. No thanks to her influence of course! '

'A million sweaty, bearded perpetually online monkey's with typewriters. Meaty paws bashing away. What would they do if they found out an alien babe was the one they wefe talking to, maybe I should call a real life meetup. All that sweaty man meat, in one place, have to be an ashikabi somewhere...' She entertained herself with that thought for a moment. 'Wait, that's kind of hot.' She made a mental note to explore that idea more in depth later.

Starting in the more serious sections, she browsed the news section and current events. The world, as always, was seemingly going to hell in a hand basket. Nothing new there. She typed a few witty comments messages and moved on. It was a slowish day and the topics being discussed really didn't catch her attention, so she moved onto another board that was speculating about the sudden increase in M.B.I. Security Service forces around Shinto Teito.

"Patrol routes MAPPED! New precincts opened, in Kyoto and Edogawa. Crackdown coming?" One anonymous poster commented.

"100%, final plan is moving into fruition. M.B.I. will move on capital soon. Refer to previous post of heavy cargo under tarps. Bet your ass its A2A."

"schizoposting at its finest white-otaku just got lucky at kamikura. heavies weren't present, no aircover. if he fucks around he'll get stomped."

Of course the opinions were diverse in any moderated space. Matsu decided to add her own two cents. Though instead of posting anonymously she chose to use a moniker. She would be lying if she said that she didn't get enjoyment out of gaining some level of notoriety in the online space. She delighted in dropping little hints and answering questions that no one else could. After all, to someone that could access pretty much every networked system on earth and the ability to recall and assemble that information, who else could do it other than the infamous Miss Red?

"M.B.I. is stepping up patrols because they are approaching the implementation of their pentultimate plan. Battle Royale, UWU! Hiroto-san, he is hardening up ST to keep people in. Expect increased biometric security at checkpoints to filter foreign agents. Tough times coming for remaining ST property owners." She signed the comment with her alias. It didn't take long for the other posters to respond.

"O.o Red-senpai!"

"She returns! Our wonderful leader!"

"Show tits or gtfo!"

"More land grabs coming?" Matsu cackled at the replies. These were her people after all! She cracked her fingers and continued reading. 

"Receipt of flights LD-332 and LD-144 on the public transponder from PE1 to STRA last week. VIP movements? Armored convoy reported moving from airport to TT, larger armored vans. See pics." The poster was remarking on flight transponders that originated from around the suspected location of Kamikura Island to Shinto Teito. Matsu didn't known the specifics, but by accessing public flight records she was able to determine the information's authenticity.

She quickly used her Technopathy to hack into the airports CCTV. It had been scrubbed, of course, but by using her "sixth sense" she pulled her focus out and searched for any nearby cameras that could of given insight into the nature of the convoy's occupants. A weather reporting station on the tarmac took still images every 5 minutes or so, she sorted through the stored images in her mind. Collated them to the approximate time that the flights had reported as landing. Vaguely female with pink hair, white hair and grey hair, all dressed in black and grey.

"Karasuba." she mumbled. She didn't know the names of the other two, they had been segregated away from general population, but she recognized them as the newest additions to the Disciplinary Squad. M.B.I. was making moves it seemed. That meant the plan was proceeding. 

"MBI moving VIPs to ST. ETs confirmed. 3 ETs were on that flight." Matsu grinned as she typed, knowing the shitstorm she was about to unleash. It was childish, but she loved the attention. Also, fuck OPSEC. She really couldn't do any worse to M.B.I. than stealing the Jinki. As she predicted, a flurry of messages arrived in the next few minutes.

"Meds, now!"

"Yay! Red-chan with the alien invasion theories! I knew Hiroto-sans hair was unnatural!"

"Well she hasn't been wrong yet. Look at the raid on that fish cannery. Satellite confirmed it."

"picture of alien invaders in question >127363828 lol" Matsu had stirred the pot enough. She didn't know if her leaking limited information was helpful or not, but it was exciting. She idly inspected the last post and the embedded link that would lead to another qouted one.

'Let's see how warm you are.' She was purposely vague on her descriptions of the Sekirei, never actually giving name to her species. Most of the guesses had her and her kin being ugly reptilian creatures or squat bulbous grey skinned monstrosities, the two most popular stereotypical aliens. 'Nobody would suspect an invasion of gravure models! Well there was that one movie....okay it was a porno.' However, when the page loaded she got something that despite her daily dip into internet cancer still managed to unnerve even her.

"M4F Well hung bamboo shoot seeking out of this world virgin birdy not afraid of sharing. Must look like pic attached and have a big juicy brain. Unwinged applicants only." That would of been disturbing enough, someone was obviously seeking a brain type sekirei before the games even began! How? But the picture, a well done if amateurish sketch, done in pencil and colored with markers, was undoubtedly of her. Wire rim glasses, auburn hair done up in two red pigtails and a rockin' body, the artist had drawn her sitting on her knees with legs apart on a comically small asteroid, surrounded by scientifically inaccurately placed planets and stars. Her chest was drawn to be protruding forward and a light blush was depicted in her cheeks.

It was actually pretty flattering.

"It has to be an ashikabi from inside M.B.I." She chewed her lip in thought. "But..." Sure it could of been a M.B.I. affiliated ashikabi that had gained access to her files at some point. The problem though was what the drawing of her was wearing.

She had only had Miya acquire the white cheongsam-like slit-legged dress a week ago. Bought from a boutique along with various other clothes. She hadn't worn anything like that before. So anyone that had seen her would of seen her wearing the standard grey jumpsuit, or maybe the uniform of the Disciplinary Squad if they really dug. There were no connected camera's in her room and she had not so much as stepped in front of a window during her stay at the inn. Hadn't left either. While she was sure that M.B.I. knew where she was located, she knew they lacked the courage to approach due to the inevitable wrath of the Inn's protector. After all in the Izumo Inn, Miya's rules were absolute and one of those was "No violence."

So they could not of known about the dress. Unless someone in the house told them... She dismissed the thought outright. Uzume would never willingly betray her. The younger woman had been friends with her for over almost two decades! And if she was any judge of character, No-1 would literally rather die than give an ounce of satisfaction to Minaka or M.B.I.

'So what the hell is the solution? Thermal Imagery? Sonic resonance? Advanced Behavioral Prediction Algorithms? Remote Viewing?' She didn't know. And that was an unusual occurrence in itself. Her nose started to itch in irritation. Matsu pushed up her glasses, the bright light reflecting on the lenses and obscuring her eyes. "Naughty, naughty, mysterious voyeur-san. I guess I need to punish you, putting my image up for all these cherry boys to see." she glowered, but part of her was excited by the exhibitionism done on her behalf.

The thought of possibly hundreds of anonymous men and women pleasuring themselves to her warmed her depths in a delightful way. She activated her technopathic abilities and ripped through the image board's surprisingly robust cyber security.

'Let's see who you are.' Matsu loved a good hunt. 

Diving into the site's stored database of posts she identified the post number and located the IP address it was associated with. It was a proxy, but that in itself didn't present too much difficulty, she found the originating address and geolocated it.

It all took about ten seconds.

'Hmm, an internet cafe, let's see.' Matsu tried to access the cafe's CCTV, but apparently the system was not connected to the internet. Payments made in the suspect period were unfortunately a prepaid debit, so that was a loss. The area around the business did not possess CCTV cameras, either that or they were not functioning.

Growing frustrated, Matsu did the next best thing and broke into multiple cellphone companies geographical reference databases. These providers tracked the triangulated locations of all cellphone users. She narrowed it down and geofenced the area around the cafe, looking for a SIM card that entered shortly before the the post was made and left sometime after. The margin of error made it questionable on how accurate it could be, but she couldn't think of any other choice. Eventually she found two cellphones that matched her criteria.

One was registered to a "Nishimoto Keisuke", resident of Roppongi. 19 year old high school drop out. She quickly confirmed his identity through the pictures on his social media and cloud storage and comparing them to the local government ID office. Matsu felt a quick pang of guilt for the invasion of privacy and the accompanying vestige of a sexual thrill.

'Probably not that one, which leaves the other.' The other cellphone was not affilitated with any name as it was a prepaid line, and there were no photos or documents stored in it. 'However,' Matsu scrolled through the call records, 'gotcha!' The sekirei of wisdom wiggled excitedly in her computer chair, celebrating the victory. 'Not as smart as think you are eh, spy-san?' The redheaded bombshell identified the numbers that were called frequently by the phone. Government phone records identified them as belonging to a Nobe Kayano, 46 of Daisen and Nobe Emiru, 20, which was also located at the same address. Now suspecting a familial tie she searched for the same last names in the birth registry and past residences that coincided with the two women's addresses.

"Nice to meet you Nobe Sogen!" Matsu cackled with glee and rubbed her hands together as she read out loud the results of her sleuthing. "Now let's see who you are. Nobe Sogen. age 25, born to Nobe Gaku and Kayano, little sister. School records indicate above average scores." She ran his name through a search engine "Father, Nobe Gaku, deceased." "Youngest ever "Ultimate Fight" belt holder. Government records show enlistment in the Japanese military, meritorious service award, discharged a few months ago. Huh." Matsu tried searching for a name associated with a bank, power company or utilities, but was having no luck finding an address associated with that name where it was within traveling distance of the internet café. 'Hmm, change tactics." She mockingly held her hands together ain prayer, "Thank you Minaka-baka for the nice police state!' Matsu pulled up a picture of this "Nobe Sogen". A tan smiling face with startling blue eyes stared back at her, the government issued military ID none too flattering. "No offense, you look kind of dumb, voyeur-chan." she leaned back in her chair and rapped her knuckles against the armrest. "How'd a guy like you sneak one past a gal like me?"

She entered the local Security Services server and ran through the facial recognition library, using her technopathy to run a comparison. It was startling how quickly the result came back. Probably because he was already marked as a person of interest and was indexed higher than the most.

"Uh oh. 'Hired by M.B.I. Security Service' last month? Transferred to TRU? Oooooh, you almost got me Minaka-teme! But you'll need to try a little harder than that." Matsu spun lazily in her chair, 'It was fun while it lasted though. At least they're getting creative. I wonder how big of net they had to cast to try amd snare little ol' me?' On a whim, Matsu ran a scrape, searching for similar wording as the archived image board post. Again almost immediately, several hits appeared again and she navigated to the first one, which was a adult classified website that catered to the Shinto Teito area. The ad was basically worded the same as the image board post, it's origin's another internet cafe. Unlike the last one, this one's CCTV cameras were cloud based. "There you are Nobe-san." she had confirmed her suspect. "Weird though." If this man was working at the behest of M.B.I., he was sloppy.

Why would the company bother with visiting internet cafes to send the messages? It was obvious from the man's nervous expression and furtive glances, that he was scanning for security cameras. He had missed these obviously, but why? The organization was more than capable of generating an untraceable origin point for any messages they would create, even for her. Unless they wanted her to think that. Make her think he was an amateur. But they hadn't even tried to hide his employment with them. If they had wanted to, they could of hired outside of M.B.I. and had their agent remain anonymous.

'Maybe he is acting on his own, but then that goes back to the question of how?' She worried her lip, 'But he said he's an ashikabi...' She looked at the full body security footage shot of the man in question. Unlike the headshot used before, this one showed his wide back and muscular legs that stretched his clothing in a pleasing manner. The perverted sekirei suddenly felt warm.

Inspired she typed in "Nobe Sogen Ultimate Fight". The image returned nearly blew her out of her chair. Wiping the blood dripping from her nose, Matsu burned inside; lusting over the rippling abs, giant biceps and mountainous shoulders of her would be stalker. Shirtless and poised in a victory position, she couldn't help but think he was just her type. Well one of her types to be fair.

"Oh kukukukukuku, tempting, tempting." she folded her feet up under her and sat cross legged in the seat. Eventually she came to a decision. "Damn it, I can't help it! The thirst is real!" She created an account with the adult website, using her usual screen name. Hurriedly she typed out a message to feel him out. With nothing left to add, she pressed send. The hacker sekirei stared at the screen for a good while, lost in her own contemplation. Now that her lust addled brain had calmed itself, she could feel anxiety coming on.

Was this a mistake? An impulse? Was she so desperate for real interaction with another person that she would risk her freedom?

There was only one thing to do. Matsu switched over to another open tab on her browser and soon the sounds of moaning and slapping filled the soundproofed room. Her preferred distraction deployed, she lifted one leg up and set it on the edge of her chair. On one of her secondary monitor's she positioned the shirtless picture of this "Nobe Sogen.". With one hand she began to trace the outline of her womanhood through the sheer lace of her white thong panties. Her other hand  traced the swell of her heavy bosom.

"Are you my future?" Matsu panted as she slid a finger under her waistband, "Or my doom?" Both thoughts were equal parts terrifying and alluring and she couldn't quite separate them out. 

Though the good news, she at least knew that despite what might come tomorrow, at least it would be interesting.

Chapter Text

On her back Benitsubasa couldn't do anything other than nod. I smiled at her and tickled under her chin with the back of my finger. "Relax, Beni. If you want me to stop, just say so."

"If I wanted you to stop, I rip that thing off myself!" she growled but I could tell she was joking, or at least I hoped. Were we really about to fuck, after less than a day of knowing each other? I guess when you are connected to someone by an unbreakable bond on a spiritual level that lets you share emotions and trust each other explicitly, that bar was a little lower.

"You're so feisty Beni, but I love that about you." I kissed her gently on the lips. I could feel her body stiffen at the use of the "L" word. I peppered her neck and ears with kisses and licks. She shivered under my touch and let out a little moan when I nibbled on her ear lobe.

Meanwhile my hands pawed at her breasts, teasing first one then the other, delicately massaging the small mounds. I pulled them and rubbed my finger against a stiff pebble sized nipple.

"Mhmmm." She whimpered and I laughed.

"The mighty Benitsubasa, reduced to this." I traced a line to her taut stomach and lowered my head to flick my tongue across one of her pink tips.

"Shut up, Mon-key." she whined, though the way she arced her back and tried to push her breast towards sang a different tune. I popped one of her breasts in my mouth an suckled on it, swirling my tongue around her nipple.

"Make me Red." I pushed my hand between her legs and ran two of my fingers over her sweet mound. I got a hiss from her as I twirled my thumb over the top of her glistening muff, teasing the sensitive knub that lay beneath the hood. I dragged my hand up and felt something fuzzy. I snuck a look down and grinned. 'First time I've seen pink pubes. Heh.' Strangely though they were constrained to a small patch. Shaped like a heart. I shook my head, 'Aliens.'

Something pale, alluring and soft clung to my side for a moment as my other extraterrestrial lover left to slide into position, laying on her back next to her pink haired friend.

"A pair of sexy little minxes. What to do?" I pretended to think for a moment before snapping my fingers. "Oh well, I'll have to do my best." I slid a hand up the inside of both sekirei's thighs. Their skin was ridiculously smooth. I loved the feeling of it. I rode my hand all the way up to that special place once again and teased their openings. Two bodies writhed gently with my ministrations, though I knew I had to balance things out. I reached up and slowly brought Benitsubasa's own hand down to her slowly inflaming minge. I made eye contact with her as I slid up to be on the level with her, still gripping her hand.

"Keep yourself entertained Beni, your sister needs some attention as well." I showed her, guiding her hand over her drooling slit. I rubbed our hands along it, teaching her the basics of self pleasure.

"Sister?" she panted and I gave her a kiss.

"Of course, you are going to be sister wives after all right?"

"Wife?" Benitsubasa's eyes faded away into her own little world at the thought. "Wife."

"I think you broke her." Haihane said, laying on her side with her arm on her hip and the other behind her head. Her face was flushed.

"That was the plan. You two are adorable though. And I would be honored to have you as my wives." Wow, I never thought I would say that seriously...' I pulled her towards me and on top of my body. She pushed herself up off the ground and I got the delightful sight of her impossibly perky breasts hanging like ripe fruit right in front of my face. I reached with both hands and spread her ass, reaching her cunt and splitting it open with my fingers.

Simultaneously I nuzzled her bosom, moving my nose between the two hanging bags of fun. Haihane gazed into my eyes, one eye covered by her bangs and I was struck by a compulsion.

Dipping one finger shallowly into the entrance to her wet folds, the other broke away and brushed the hair away from her face. Now two ebony orbs stared at me.

"Much better." I said and I ran my finger over her lips and down to a heavy breast, groping it and pressing my finger into her stiff nips.

"Thank you, Ashikabi-kun, for telling us the tru-uth." I twirled my finger around the rim of her pussy hole.

"Of course Hane-chan. I would never hold that back from my family. You can both call me Sogen if you'd like."

"Bond Up!: Haihane"

"Here let me show you something." I rolled over, dropping the white haired beauty onto her back. I licked around her nipples and then trailed my tounge southwards, on her stomach, ringing around her belly button and to her thighs, were I gave each a gentle kiss before planting my head between them.

Haihane looked at me in askance. "You'll see." I grinned and swiped my wide tongue from the bottom of her pussy all the way to the tip. I could feel her excitement and the pleasure. Usually I would just feel for the tensing of her muscles to know when I was doing good, but this was on a whole different level. It was kind of weird. But also kind of hot. I ate her pussy like it was going out of style! And what a nice minge it was! Perfect in every way, just like the girl herself.

'Jeeze, sekirei are really made to fuck.' It was ridiculous, even the taste of their pussy was different than a human woman's. Sweeter and not as bitter. But who was I to complain? I kept licking, using my fingers to open her up. All along, I felt something building up through the bond. It felt like a pressure, like a balloon being slowly inflated. Curious, I attacked her clit and suddenly the bond that "felt" like Haihane was flooded with pleasure.

Meanwhile back in reality, her body contorted and I was nearly crushed between her thighs as they snapped together, her orgasm sending her into a fit. A flash of light and her wings unfurled, white and lustrous.

'Hmm, those look bigger than before.' I wondered, indeed they appeared even larger than they had been the last time they had appeared. 'Must be the bond's strength increasing. The stronger the bond, tbe stronger the sekirei. Fucking killer!' As Haihane recovered from her I assumed, perhaps incorrectly, first orgasm, I felt someone tugging on my hair.

Turns out it was Benitsubasa who basically raped me with her maximum level puppy eyes. Though I did notice that she hadn't stopped frigging herself either.

"Good girl, being patient, I'm proud." I tittered, leaving the half conscious Haihane to her own devices. Learning from my last encounter I made sure to lock my arms around Beni's muscular thighs. Feeling Haihane's orgasm second hand still had me slightly light headed and I didn't bother to position myself below Benitsubasa like I had before. Instead I just laid back and ate her from the side. She was already soaked. I licked her swollen nether lips and enjoyed every moan and twitch the little fighter made as I went to work. I could already tell Beni would be a loud lover.

"Fuck, Monkey, that's...I LOVE YOU SO MUCH!" Her shouted admission flushed my face. Having a beautiful woman say that to them would lighten the heart of almost any man. I was so lost in our love making that I jumped when I felt something lightly caress my cock. I looked down and my heart jumped into my mouth. Benitsubasa had shed her gloves and was awkwardly but gently gripping my member with a look of concentration on her face. My big dick looked even bigger in her little hands and that sight was exceptionally obscene.

"Yah know, it works better if you move your hand back and forth.

"I know that!" She glowered at me, spreading my oozing precum around her palm as she gingerly worked the shaft. "And did I say you could stop?"

I laughed at her powerless demands, but quickly sucked my teeth as she picked up the pace, gaining confidence with each stroke. I hadn't jerked off in a while and was at risk of blowing my load too soon.

It didn't help that Haihane had recovered and was leaning over my waist, staring curiously at what the Red Sekirei was doing. Knowing that the best defense was an aggressive offense I dove back into her snatch, working twice as hard in a desperate race against the clock. I ignored the feeling of the handjob, even managed to hang on when I felt another hand, slightly larger, reached out and grasped an uncovered portion of my rod. But when I felt something moist and warm envelop the tip, I lost it.

And who wouldn't? The sight of violent arrogant Benitsubasa licking the head of my dick nearly drove me insane.

"Fuck, Beni, I..." I lost the use of words, attacking her pussy with reckless abandon. My fingers delved deeper than I had gone before. But it was all for naught. The building pressure at the base of my stomach finally reached a crescendo as something warm and wet enveloped my member.

"Cumming!" I grunted, Beni's head bobbing up and down as she sucked me off fervently. Her mouth could barely wrap around my girth, but that didn't seem to stop her. Haihane had taken to playing with my testicles, idly rolling them with her hand, Benitsubasa having claimed most of me for herself.

With a massive surge my cock swelled and pleasure rocked my body. Benitsubasa's eye's widened as the first mighty spurt shot down her throat, she quickly withdrew, my fat cockhead exiting her mouth with a "pop". The next shot of cum spattered across her nose and dripped onto the bed, the third blasted onto her chest.

"What the hell is this stuff?" she wondered, wiping my jizz off her face. She pulled her fingers apart, a trail of cum stretching between them.

"It's, uh, my semen, it's what happens when a man orgasms. It's used to make babies."

"I ATE BABIES?" The pinkette howled in surprise and Haihane giggled.

"You really didn't listen in any of our classes did you?" "It's not babies Beni." I said as I grabbed a box of conveniently placed tissues. Taking one out I wiped off the cum on her chest.

"It needs to go inside a woman to make a baby. In here." I placed my hand on her womb and gently squeezed before I tossed the soiled tissue into the bin.

"A baby?" Benitsubasa whispered, holding her belly. I can't say I knew what she was thinking. The bond was mostly silent.

"But sex doesn't have to lead to a baby. Sometimes people do it for fun or because it feels good." I sat behind her and pulled her into my lap and hugged her to my chest. "Or they do it with the people they love because its a way of growing closer to each other."

"It is?" Benitsubasa wondered and I nodded. "Ahh, that's...I mean we can, I don't really care of course but if we have too." She was saying one thing, but her hands picked up mine and moved them back to her chest. I giggled at her sweet and sour act.

"Well you girls are in luck, most normal guys would be done after blowing their lid, but me."

"v *^* Sexual Intercourse: 20 (Novice) Skill gained from engaging in sexual intercourse. Bonuses - Sexual stamina is increased by 125%. Sex is 25% more pleasurable. Rank: 2"

Yup, skills for the win. Already I could feel "another in the chamber" and the feel of Benitsubasa's plump ass sitting against my slowly inflating bulge did wonders for my recovery. I nibbled at her neck again.

"What do you say Beni, want to grow closer with me?" At this point I was at full mast again and my pole stuck out under her wet folds. I gripped her ass and slid her back and forth on it.

"Wh-whatever." Grinning savagely, I twisted her around and nestled myself between her legs. As a whim I grabbed Haihane and plopped her down next to us. "Hold her hand." I instructed and the white haired alien could only nod dumbly and grab onto her friend's hand. I plopped the full length of my dick onto Beni's stomach and she looked at it it nervously. It almost reached her belly button. I gazed into her eyes trying to convey reassurance. Perhaps taking it for an unspoken challenge, the martial artist alien maiden looked away. 

"Tch. It's no big deal, Monkey!" Though again, her flushed face kinda suggested otherwise. 

I snorted and grabbed my member; pulling back I guided myself towards the piping hot opening of her virgin cunt. My fat cockhead pushed against her folds as they parted, the entrance to her cunt extremely tight despite the copious amounts of foreplay we had had. I pushed my hips forward, centimeter by centimeter, burrowing into her.

'Oh my god, I'm fucking a sekirei, I'm fucking Benitsubasa!' I was giddy with excitement. I looked at my lover's face. She was biting her lip, flinching as I penetrated her deepest depths. I felt resistance in her channel and knew what was coming. I leant forward and put my weight on her while kissing her deeply.

Her wings appeared to mark the occasion. Then I thrust deeply inside her, the resistance giving away and allowing me full access into her wondrous depths. I felt Beni flinch but my weight and the kiss did well to distract her as I took her maidenhead.

"Fuck Beni-chan, you're amazing." I groaned as I bottomed out in her, my dick reaching the end of her love tunnel and stopping. She was amazingly tight and hot, her insides seeming to wrap around my member like it was vacuum sealed. I pulled back then plunged forward again. She was oh so wet, yet at the same time it seemed like her snatch didn't want to let me go. It was honestly the best fuck of either of my two lives.

I started slowly, plunging her depths in a slow methodical manner. I kissed Beni again noting she had adopted a dazed expression. It didn't take long before I increased the pace, pounding her relentlessly. I could feel the rising wave of pleasure in both myself and through the bond.

"Monkey." Benitsubasa whimpered, embracing me around the neck and pulling me down to her so we could kiss again. "Sogen, I love you!" All pretenses were dropped. I realized then and there that this was right. I didn't have to hold back or ignore the feeling the existed in my heart.

It was true, I had known Benitsubasa my entire life. Maybe it was the sex, or that history, or maybe even the massive torrent of emotions raging through our bond. 'Is this like it is for every Ashikabi?' If that was the case, I didn't understand Minato's shyness and reluctance to return his sekirei's feelings. How could you feel hesitation when you could feel the sincere nature of the other person's pure love and admiration firsthand?

"I..." I hesitated.

Did I love her? I didn't want to lie to my sekirei.

Were they just tools to be used on my quest for victory? Cherished companions? Destined partners?

Their love would only end in death mine or theirs. If I was to die, they would die along me. Not that it was their choice. They were forced into this, slaves to their desires and biology. We had met mere hours ago but she was saying this as if we already had some deep bond.

'You already do. They know you better than anyone ever has.' Shame faced, I raised my head and met her eyes again.

I couldn't say it.

Until I could.

Until I REALLY looked at her. Angry, arrogant Benitsubasa was glowing! Literally and figuratively!

Pure worship and adulation bordering on manic. To think that someone could feel that way about me?

The alien feelings were becoming overwhelming and I could no longer deny what I knew to be true. From an fictional ideal fantasy, to a anticipated goal, to a regretful loss and joyful victory.

Could she be one of my precious people to protect?

Of course.

I was a selfish man after all.

"I love you too!" I bellowed and to hell to anyone who overheard me. I slammed into her and my announcement seemed to be the final barrier to her release. She cried out wordlessly, her brilliant pink wings larger than even a few moments ago.

"Bond Up!: Benistubasa"

I didn't have the presence of mind to read it, so consumed by the massive wave of pleasure that hit as she came.

By instinct I grappled with her, lifted her body off the bed and upright into my lap, using my hands to slam her up and down, faster and faster as I reached my own climax. Any resemblance of rational thought seemed to have deserted my alien paramour as well, her head lolled to the side with her tongue out as I came.

My second orgasm was even bigger than the first! Rope after rope of thick cum burst poured into her, filling her every nook and cranny with my seed.

Marking her as mine and mine alone.

Gradually I stopped moving and let her bruised hips fall from my grip. Exhausted, I slouched back, Benitsubasa sagging  on top of me. We were both breathing heavily, though from what I could see, I was the only one who was sweating.

Something wet was on my cheeks and I wiped away the free flowing tears that had leaked from my eyes. I couldn't even feel shame about that. That had been...

Almost religious? Sacred?

Benitsubasa nuzzled my face and I stroked my large fingers through her messy hair. The pink strands felt silky to the touch. Benitsubasa murmured something, but I didn't catch it.

"I love you too." I blindly replied and apparently that was the right response as Benitsubasa hugged me tightly, the after shocks of her climax still work their ways through her trembling body.

Haihane was smiling brilliantly at the two of us, her hand still intertwined with the pinkette's. I smiled back at her.

"Alright sexy ladies, anyone hungry?" I saw the interested look in Haihane's stare and even the still dazed Beni-chan perked up a little. "Heh, I'll order something from the front desk."

I reached for the phone, but stopped when I felt something warm and slimy slide down my thigh.

"Eh, maybe another shower first."

(I8I)*(I8I)*(I8I)

Sometime later we had all had all settled down for the night. The girls were fed, though they had both eaten an alarming amount of food.

If I wasn't well off, I had the feeling I'd of been screwed.

Especially since well, hopefully my hands would be even more full soon. I summoned a laptop from my inventory and booted up the custom stateless operating system I had installed.

The light from the screen caused Benitsubasa to mumble something and roll away. Both girls had fallen asleep a while ago and right now only Haihane clung to me. Though apparently she wasn't as asleep as I thought.

"What are you doing?" She voiced a question as I logged onto the hotel's public wifi and confirmed that my proxies were still working as intended.

"I'm trying to contact another sekirei that I have been hunting for a while now." I replied, logging into my throw away email account.

"Oh...which number?" Her voice seemed a little forlorn.

"02, her name is Matsu" I opened the link that the classifieds website had had provided and snorted. "It seems she takes an exception to my art."

The private message had started with "fuck you" and ended with "fuck me". All the words in between were pretty much what I expected from the sexy internet dweller. Accusations of being M.B.I. or a government agent, then some light gloating about how easy it was to find me.

'Matsu, the last thing I had ever wanted to do was to hide from you.'

"Why would she do that?" Haihane queried as she watched me work, "Wait, isn't she still on the island, how would she communicate with you?"

"Because she's not on the island." I typed up a neutral response with an invite link to an ad-hoc encrypted chat room and pressed send.

"She's not? How di-"

"She escaped from M.B.I. along with another Sekirei sometime not too long ago. Stole something pretty important too. I'm kinda surprised you didn't hear about it. Sounds like something that would require 'discipline'." I closed the laptop, leaving the session running.

"No, we didn't get told anything." Her eyes followed the laptop as I set it down and she pointed at it."Can you play games on that?"

"Not this one." I explained, putting my arms behind my head. She deflated at my admission. "Do you not have a problem with me looking to find another Sekirei?" I was curious. How would that dynamic work here? 'Well we can't have that!'

"Oh, why? Should I care? Are you going to tell me to leave?" When I sputtered my denials she smiled and held my arm to her breast. "Then it's ok." She smiled reassuringly, but again she looked at the laptop. "It's a pity you don't have any games. It's just that when we left, I left my PS Vita 2 behind. I was just getting good too...." Haihane sounded unreasonably upset with that admission, but I didn't judge her too harshly. Instead I reached over and fondly stroked her hair.

"Hmmm, how about tomorrow I buy you a couple new systems."

"Ahh no, I can't ask you to spend that much on me!" she protested. I just laughed in response. I moved my hand down and began rubbing the small of her back.

"Haihane, really it's fine. If I didn't want to, I wouldn't offer it. Besides, money isn't really a problem for us." I bopped her on the nose. "So it's fine."

"Ashikabi-kun, thank you! I would like that a lot!" Haihane hugged me close, her bust pressing into my chest.

"Hane, please, I told you to call me Sogen." My hands became bolder and soon they were toying with the hem of her robe. She hid her smile behind a hand.

"Thank you, Sogen." I could tell she was blushing fiercely and the way she said my name, it was like she was testing it. "Umm, I was wondering, um," she suddenly sounded unsure of herself, twisting the cloth belt of her robe in her hands, and mumbled something under her breath.

Benitsubasa snorted and rolled over again, dragging our shared blanket over to the edge of the bed with her.

"What is it Hane-chan?" I whispered and Haihane placed her hand hesitantly on my thigh, tapping her fingers.

"If you wanted to have sex with me too..." she repeated, whispering so softly that I could barely hear.

But I did hear and it left me staringd umbly at her for a brief period of time before recovering. 'Maybe she wants to cement her place before I pick up yet another sekirei?' In response, I licked my fingers and trailed them down her side, my hand coming to a rest on her pelvis.

"You want me to fuck you?" I asked, in as husky a voice I could manage. She gulped and nodded "Sure, but no kissing, " I put a meaty finger over her pale lips' "don't want to wake up Red." She quickly nodded her agreement and I smirked, dragging my hand across the length of her wide womanly hips and to the honeypot the lurked between her thighs. With no further words needed, I began to quietly go to work. 

Flicking and rubbing and teasing until she was wet with excitement.

All throughout it, Haihane did her best in keeping as quiet as possible, managing just a few whimpers even when I began to suck on her plump tits with abandon. When I determined she was wet enough, I pulled her around so she was facing away from me and hiked up her and mine's robe. Laying behind her, I bit gently into her shoulder as I lined up my entrance. I nudged forward and lifted her leg up, granting me better access.

"Please." she begged, taking my pause for hesitation, instead the true reason. Drinking her in, I once again was captured by the otherworldly beauty. With one powerful thrust, I granted her wish and sheathed myself inside. She flinched lightly as I broke her maidenhood and I paused once inside to allow some time for her to adjust.

When she was ready she nodded demurely to me and I began to pump into her.

She was just as wonderfully tight as Benitsubasa, and the way her full breasts jiggled as I fucked her was quite pleasing.

"I'll give you it all Haihane. Everything. Is that what you want? Want me to fuck you like Benitsubasa?" I whispered hotly into her ear.

"Yes!" she hissed back and I plunged into her again and again.

Unlike my coupling with Benitsubasa, this was more sensual, slow and rhythmic. A relaxed fuck, unlike the frenzied session we had shared earlier. Throughout I continued to shower Haihane's neck with kisses and nips while whispering sweet nothings into her ear, trading words for nibbles and gentle licks.

Feeling frisky, I reached around her leg to where our flesh connected and gently rubbed the hood of her love hole, playing with her clit.

The Blue Sekirei whimpered quietly at the new assault, even more so when my other arm snaked under her chest and began fondling her breast from the other side.

I could feel that she was getting close in the way her insides tightened around my dick and in truth so was I. Our bond pulsed and flowed between us, heightening our emotions and feeding back one's experiences to the other 

Making love secretly while Benitsubasa slumbered right next to us was actually quite the thrill!

My late night lover's breathing had gotten more ragged as she neared her climax and I began to pick up the pace.

"Mmmmm Hane-chan, I'm close." I whispered hotly into her ear, dropping her leg so I could take her more forcefully from behind. I checked to make sure Benitsubasa had rolled the other way, this was going to be bright.

A few more tense moments, where the only sound was the slap of flesh on flesh and the heavy pants of two animals in heat. Haihane came first, but on the first hint of her orgasm, I pushed her onto her back, the wings of light materializing through the bed and muffling the light. I briefly wondered if we had just scared the crap out of our downstairs neighbors.

Seeing as I had found a solution, I messily kissed her for the first time since we had started. Between the action and the clenching of a cunt in the midst of an orgasm, I finally reached my limit as well.

"Skill Up!: Sexual Intercourse"

I rolled on my back and brought her with me, grabbing her by the hips I jackhammered into her poor abused quim as I reached my own peak. It was quite the beautiful sight. Haihane, still riding the wave of her own pleasure, holding her upper body up with her arms, breasts jumping up and down with every thrust.

I came hard, spraying my cum inside my sekirei with wild abandon. Haihane took over, humping up and down with her hips, milking my dick like she was desperate to extract every last drop. By the time she collapsed on top of me, I was thoroughly spent. I turned her head towards me and we kissed gently. Her wings projected through both me and the bed this time, to no ill effect. I didn't care. Benitsubasa would have to deal. My still turgid cock inside of her, she turned around and lay on top of me again, this time facing towards me. I grabbed the blanket from the still passed out pinkette (now confirmed extremely heavy sleeper) and draped it over both of us. Still conjoined, I held her against my chest and tenderly stroked her upper back.

"I'm glad fortune brought you to me Hane-chan. I feel like I'm a lucky man to find two beautiful women and fall deeply in love with both of them so quickly." I spoke truthfully and though she didn't respond I knew what she wanted to say. 

"Bond Up!: Haihane"

And with that we drifted off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Let's Play: Sekirei

Chapter VI

The sun had barely peeked above the buildings of Shinto Teito when I awoke from my deep slumber. Last night's amorous adventures had left me exhausted at the time, but I felt well rested now. My dreams were hazy and half remembered. A woman with red hair? Matsu? Eristyth? I hadn't the foggiest. 

I slowly attempted to extricate myself from the sleeping alien women, which was easier said than done! Benitsubasa had her arms locked firmly locked around my waist, somehow becoming fully horizontal during the course of the night, her feet hanging off the bed. Meanwhile Haihane, perhaps unconsciously competing with her fellow sekirei, was keeping a close eye on her prize. Her entire body aligned with mine, her robe having opened down the middle, one milky shoulder and breast pressed to my chest in warm skin to skin contact. I struggled valiantly for a moment, before realizing the futility of it.  Like the jaws of a gator, they were locked on tight! 

Thankfully, at least one of them was responsive. But again she was hiding her level of consciousness. It seemed that Haihane was more than happy to amuse herself at my desperate attempts of escape. 

"Enjoying yourself?" I asked, staring into the the one revealed onyx orb, the other obscured by her perpetually drooping bang. The shock white of her long hair was splayed out behind her, unbound from the usual cloth wrapping that kept it in a ponytail. 

Haihane didn't respond, instead hiding her flushed face under my shoulder. Still trapped, I growled in annoyance, but really it was hard to stay mad. I could still feel the two of them inside my head, radiating contentment and love, though the nadir I recognized as Haihane had some shy embarrassment mixed in as well. Combine that with the ever present effect of the soulstone's buff and it was a heady concoction. It felt amazing, but that didn't change the fact that I had to get up. 

I tweaked a rosy nipple and Haihane jumped away, squeaking cutely and rushing to protect her breasts. 

"Hey, you left yourself wide open, don't blame me." I laughed at her accusatory glare, holding up my hands in a placating manner. "Don't you want breakfast? We have to get up eventually, plus you know, gotta use the loo." 

Haihane pouted for a second but soon made up her mind, sitting up and looking around the room. 

"I do not have a toothbrush." She informed me and I shook my head. 

"You can use mine, or a finger I guess." I gestured at the gremlin still attached to my lower half. "But first, mind giving me a hand with Beni-chan?" 

Haihane pulled her robe back up on her shoulder and scurried off the bed and into the bathroom, pausing at the door, "No," she smiled at me coyly, "I don't think I will." With that betrayal, she disappeared. Leaving me with, well a little problem. 

"Hey, hey, Benitsubasa. Wake up?" I shook her gently, then not so gently. Still, her grip was relentless, her sleep unchallenged. 'You gotta be kidding me!'  Finally, I had enough. 

"BONK!" I karate chopped the little menace right on the back of the head. With my enhanced strength that should-

"Nyaaaah!"Benitsubasa let out a big yawn and rolled onto her back, letting go of me in the process. Her big, deep vermillion eyes regarded me sleepily as she rested her head on my belly. "G'mornin' Monkey." 

"Good morning, Benitsubasa, did you sleep well?"  I exasperatedly asked, slightly amused at how cutesy the hard headed firebrand was acting. 

"Mhmm." 

"I'm glad." I petted her hair, which had also come undone sometimes during the night. "Why don't we get ready, we're gonna have some stuff to do today. Maybe a little shopping?" 

"Nope, still sleepin', early.'" the Red Sekirei rejected my attempted bribe and began to snuggle back against my chest. 

'Fine, I just have myself!'  Flurry, One Inch Death Punch,  were toggled on and I pop-dropped my hips and scooted out from under Beni's head, abandoning my position as pillow and finally gaining my independence! This new development, while it might of been a relief to my aching bladder, did not sit so well with my clingy bedmate. 

"Hey! Get back here, I'm not done cuddling!" Benitsubasa rolled onto her stomach and reached her arms out, as if she could reach me from where she was laying. 

"As tempting as that is, we have things to do today my dear." Indeed it was true, we had to go shopping, stock up on food, figure out the fallout from my impromptu jailbreak. Deal with Matsu. 

Another thought reached me, 'Shit, Mom.'  I didn't know how M.B.I. would of reacted to what haf happened. It was completely within the realm of possibility that they would target my family if they were so inclined. 

They were certainly capable. At this point in time the Japanese government was basically controlled and fully infiltrated by the mega-corporation, as evidenced by the ease by which M.B.I. had enacted their extra-judicial take over of Tokyo. Plus...

I walked back into the bedroom and flipped on the TV. Switching off the softcore porn channel that was automatically displayed, I tuned it to a local news program where...

"TERRORIST ATTACK AT TEITO TOWER!"  

'Shit.'  Well the good news was the news ststion didn't seem to have released any internal footage of the attack and no names were mentioned. However, that didn't mean much. My identify was obviously known to the company, they just hadn't released it for some reason. 
Maybe the "Sekirei Pass" was a thing. Minaka was certainly insane enough to make that a reality. Either way, I dialed up my Mom on my new cellphone, hoping she would pick up.

"Mushi, mushi." I was relieved to hear her voice. 

"Mom, it's Sogen." For some reason, I was feeling more nervous now than I had when fighting for my life earlier. 

"Sogen-kun!? This isn't your number, is everything alright? Are you alright?" My Mom sounded concerned, I don't think she liked me living so close to the M.B.I. headquarters. She certainly hadn't liked me working for the same. Even though it was never publically disclosed, it was well known that M.B.I. was involved with the 2010 "Kamikura Incident", the same incident that Dad was killed in. Suffice to say, she wasn't a fan. 

"It's fine Mom, well maybe not fine exactly, I got fired by M.B.I." Yeah, that was vague enough for now. 

"Oh, I see." Society dictated that this should be a shameful thing but, "I'm sorry to hear that So-kun." 

She sounded anything but. 

"Neh, neh, it's fine, it was mutual if anything and I got a great severance package." I glanced over to the girls, who were watching me with interest and silently mouthed "My Mom." 

Haihane shrugged, but Benitsubasa made an "O" with her mouth and smiled. 

"Well that was nice. Are you planning to come back home?" Mom sounded hopeful, but it wasn't something I could help her with right now. 

"Um, no, not right away at least. There are some things I still want to do here.. Is Emiru at school?" 

"Yes she is, but Sogen, I don't think it is safe there in Shinto Teito", she spit out the new name like it left a bad taste in her mouth. "I just saw today, on the news, that Bastards building, there was a bomb? Isn't that where you worked? Sogen I-" 

"I don't work there anymore Mom. It's fine. Besides the media is just overblowing it, it wasn't that big of a deal." The topic had ventured into uncomfortable waters. 

"But Sogen, they said seven people died!" I grimaced, I didn't think I had killed anyone, maimed horribly, sure. But Karasuba had taken out 4, which meant...

I found that I couldn't give less of a shit. What was the difference between slaughtering those Guardsmen and killing some M.B.I. goons? One happened in the "real world"? So what? The blood on my hands was the same either way.

It was self defense anyways. They had literally been trying to kill me. 

"Well, yeah, I mean, of course that's bad." I didn't know how my voice was supposed to sound and suddenly I felt like an imposter in my own skin. I didn't want to be having this conversation right now, or ever.  "Look just tell Emiru that if she gets an unknown caller it's probably me." 

"Why don't I just message her this number?" It was a reasonable question, but....

Undoubtedly M.B.I. and any other interested parties would be monitoring my family's lines. I honestly wasn't overly concerned, I reasonably expected that I would have no problem taking care of any human response that they could send. Sekirei on the other hand... 

I thought of the gigantic "Specials" that I had watched beat the crap out of Karasuba. Yeah, better to be safe rather than sorry. They could triangulate the calls but that wasn't the most accurate without a wifi connection to pinpoint my location. 

"No that's fine, I don't know for how long I'll have this number, so just let her..." I trailed off. My Mother was crying. "Mom? What's wrong?" 

"So-sogen are you in trouble?" 

"No! What made you think that!?" I rushed out my answer. Which sounded pretty lame as far as denials went.

"You leave your job, then the same day there's a terrorist attack. I, I...M.B.I. called me last night, Sogen they said horrible..." My eyebrows drew together in fury. 

'Bastards!'  At that moment the hatred I held in my heart for those people could of blinded a supernova. "What did they ask you?" 

The other side of the line was silent. 

"Mom! Mom, hello? Are you there?" She was. 

"Sogen, someone from the Safety Service called last night, they said they were doing an investigation." I leaned forward and rested my forehead against the cool glass of the window. It was early morning, early November and the weather had started to turn. If the Security Service was calling my mom...

"Mom-" Her voice wavering, she still managed to summon enough force to cut me off. 

"Did you do it Sogen?" My mom's voice was like iron and I hesitated. This was the woman who I had known longest in this life, who had bathed me and fed me and stayed with me even when my freakish nature was revealed. I didn't want to lie to her. 

"Yes." 

The sobbing in the other end was enough of a confirmation that she had heard.

What was I supposed to say? "Sorry?"  Lie again? I wouldn't do that. Not to Mom. Eventually, she was able contain her sobs, only to manage two words. 

"W-w-hy Sogen-kun?" She obviously was trying to figure out where she had gone wrong. I would of kindly suggested that she never had. I was born as someone already developed, my faults were obviously my own. . She didn't deserve the self imposed torture she was obviously putting herself through on my behalf. 

"Mom, you've known I was different, ever since I was little. I'd like to think it was painfully obvious." She didn't respond, but I knew she had heard me all the same, "And yet you put up with me all that time, all the oddities, all the tantrums, all the weird requests. Me acting like a general freak." I paused, thinking of what to say next. "I, I trusted you all those years Mom, you know that and I knew I could always trust you and Dad to do what was right for me. I'm just asking you to trust me now. This whole thing with the company, it's more than you or anyone else knows. M.B.I., well they were going to do something very bad to someone I love very much." How the hell was I supposed to sell this?  My mouth was dry as I tried to find the correcr sequence of words to convey what I was trying to express. "I couldn't let them do that Mom.  I can't stop this, this started the day I was born, the day that they killed Dad, the day I knew I could finally do what I was always meant to do. I'm not asking you to understand Mom or to forgive me. I'm sorry for shaming you and Dad, just..." My voice hitched, "I love you guys! Please, please know that! That's not going to change, no matter what I have to do."

That was quite the monologue. I didn't even know what I was attempting to really say with that spiel. I wasn't innocent. Nor was I apologetic. Only for what distress this was causing my family. I didn't need or want them to understand why, it wouldn't make sense anyways. 

The line was silent, it had been for over a minute. I only could assume that Mom had covered the mouthpiece. 

"Alright Mom, I have to go. I don't know when I'll call again or visit or even if you want me to. I understand., Hopefully this all works out...somehow, yeah. I love you, tell Emiru the same." I pulled the phone away from my ear, an older flip phone model that lacked many of the tracking features that modern phones came with, and hovered my to thumb over the end call button. 

"Sogen." My mom's voice crackling over the line halted my disconnection and I held the receiver back up to my ear. The line was silent again and for second I thought I was hearing things. But then she continued. 

"Make him suffer Sogen." Kayano's voice was like ice, a decade of sorrow and grief being expressed in a single sentence. It was raw and primal. I grinned madly, there was no doubt about whom she was speaking. "Make it all worth this." 

"I will Kaa-san, I promise." 

"I love you too Sogen, always." My Mom hung up, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I sat there and stared at my phone for a good couple of minutes lost in thought. 'Holy Shit. Mom is pretty fucking cool.' 

"That was your mother? She sounded nice." Haihane remarked and I smiled.

"Yeah, she is." I looked over at my Sekirei and smiled. "Now who wants pancakes?" 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

Turns out the answer was, yes, everyone wanted pancakes. Including me.

The western style restaurant was only a few minutes away by foot, tucked off the street and wedged between a laundry mat and an electronics stall. 

"So these pancakes, are they are good?" Haihane questioned, fumbling over the unfamiliar English word. We had seated ourselves at a booth near the front of the cafe, the girl's strange outfits and even odder appearances getting more than their fair share of curious looks. Thankfully it was early in the morning on a Tuesday, so there weren't that many patrons. 

"The best!" I announced, resting my arms on the rear of the padded bench. "Food fit for the gods!" I smiled at her from across the table and waggled my eyebrows. I had purposely seated us that way to avoid an inevitable fight about who would be able to sit next to me. Not that there was much room to spare.

"Really?" Haihane's eyes widened and I chuckled at her naivety. 

"Nah, I'm just joking. I do like them though, it's an American thing and that's where I'm from originally. So, I guess there's some nostalgia involved." I picked up the menu and perused it. It was standard western style breakfast fare along with some fancier options. Eggs Benedict, waffles of various types and of course the aforementioned hot cakes. 

"I thought you were from this country?" Haihane asked, confused by my statement. 

"I meant from before, my first life." I shrugged and she nodded hesitantly, still not apparently having fully accepted my convoluted back story. 

"Ah, thank you for explaining that for me. I was confused." She answered hesitantly. I looked at her reassuringly. 

"That's fine, its my life and it confuses me most of the time too." I went back to reading the menu. Picking out what I wanted, I set the document down. "Do you know what you want?" 

"I want pancakes." She stated seriously, as if it was a life changing decision she was about to make. 

"OK, what kind of pancakes do you want?" 

"There are different kinds?!" I chuckled and explained to her how to read the menu and find something she wanted. Speaking of which....

"Benitsubasa! You need to pick what you want!" I called over my shoulder to where the missing member of our group was stuck to the window. Watching her, I noted how her eyes constantly moved from one thing to another, like a rack of balls launched down a pinball ramp. She had bounced off the bench almost as soon as we had been seated and was now gaping at all the commotion of an average morning commute. 

"What?" She turned away from her gawking, leaving behind a large patch of condensation on the tinted glass. 

"The city's not going to go anywhere, come over here and pick you food." I reiterated and she reluctantly quit her crowd-gazing, skipping back over to the table. Hopping into her seat, she immediately started talking. 

"Where are all those people going? How do they not get lost? What's those colored lights mean?" A barrage of questions tumbled out of her mouth as she tried to express everything going through her mind at once. I tapped the menu, trying to direct her limited attention span to more pressing matters. 

"They're going to work, home or wherever else they want to be. The lights are called traffic lights, they help direct people. Now, read this and pick what you want to eat." I handed her the menu, aware of the waitress that was heading our way, no doubt expecting to us to be ready with our order when she arrived. 

"Um, I want, hmm, uhh this one!" Benitsubasa's nose scrunched up and her eyes became slits as she concentrated on reading the laminated paper like it was an advanced mathematics problem. 

Or at least I assumed she was reading. 

Suddenly I was struck with a bad feeling.

"Thank you for visiting Cafe Americana, please allow me to take your order." The waitress had arrived, a college aged black haired woman. She was cute, in a hometown girl kind of way and I graced her with a gentle smile. I knew people often times reacted warily to how I looked, but she didn't seem to mind. 

"Thank you for having us, I will have a cup of black coffee and the plain pancake platter with a side of crispy bacon." 

"Of course and fo-" 

"I'll have these!" The waiter jumped as Benitsubasa rudely interrupted her with a shout and jammed a finger at a seemingly random selection of items.

"Uh, okay. Of course." Flustered, she turned to the last person in the group, pausing long enough to give the pink haired girl a dirty look. 

"I will have what Ashikabi-sama is having." Haihane announced calmly, setting down her menu, apparently not having looked at it at all. 

"I am sorry, Ashikabi what?" 

I placed my hand on my face and sighed. 

After we had sorted that out, I turned to regard my sekirei, clasping my hands in front of me. 

"Did MBI not teach you how to read?" I bluntly stated, though honestly, in my defense, there was no way to ask a question like that inoffensively. 

"Nope!" Benitsubasa happily exclaimed before going back to fiddling with the silverware. I looked to Haihane, who seemed to shrink under my judging gaze.

"Not very much?" She murmured, face red in embarrassment, which I could feel through our bond. "We can read numbers." 

I crossed my arms and leaned back against the bench. 

'Bastards.' Of course I understood why they wouldn't bother with it. Can't have your slaves learning too much about the world around them and if you were going to feed them to the lions anyways.... "As if I needed any more reason to hate those pricks." 

"I'm sorry!" Haihane squeaked and bowed her head to the table. 

Fear. 

"Haihane stop it, raise your head. I'm not angry or disappointed in either of you." I tentatively tried to 'show' that through our connection. I awkwardly forced my feelings of love and acceptance forward to the front of my mind. I didn't know if it worked exactly, but I felt something like relief in response from her so I suppose it was good enough. "I just hate what he...what MBI did to you guys." 

"Yah, they suck. Didn't let me fight enough, always blaming me for breaking things and so many stupid rules!" Benitsubasa perked up at a chance to bash her former owners, because in my mind that's certainly what they were. "105 stop yelling, 105 don't eat in bed, don't eat with your hands, don't blegh!" The small sekirei stuck out her tongue and made a funny face. 

"Well, I'm no great teacher, but I think I should be able to get you up to snuff. Believe it or not, I had a lot of difficulty with kanji when I was a kid." Plus I was sure there was a "Teaching" skill I could grind. 

"You would?" Haihane looked happy at the fact, but who knows if it was because she was just excited to spend time with me or if she actually was interested in learning to read. Benitsubasa on the other hand...

"Pass!" She waved dismissively, "If it ain't fighting, I'm not interested!" Well I suppose that shouldn't be too surprising, she did seem the sort. Though perhaps that was something to press her on.

"Have you ever actually fought anyone though?" I questioned, leaning forward and resting my elbows on the table. 

"Oh lots! I beat them all too! And some of them were strong too! Just not as great as me!" The pinkette raised her fist and slapped her other hand on her surprisingly defined bicep. 

"No, I mean like a real fight." I asked and she looked at me suspiciously. 

"What do you mean a 'real' fight? Whadda trying to say Monkey?" 

"Ashikabi-sama means outside of sparring." Haihane offered. 

"Yes, though I meant more of the stakes." This was leading somewhere, but it was a subject I was dreading to broach. Either way, it was going to ruin the mood, but it had to be done. "Have you ever killed anyone?" 

"What! No! That's..." Beni's face paled and she was suddenly looking everywhere besides at me. "That's...." She stopped herself, but I imagine that would of ended with 'bad', 'evil' or any other words describing wickedness. 

My heart clenched.

'Sekirei are beings of love.' I remembered someone saying that at some point. What kind of monster would drag something pure like that into the dark, by force?

I would. 

Of course, I didn't really believe that those to states were exclusive. Love was a great motivator for violence after all. Just ask the ancient Greeks, or anyone else who ever killed for their ideals. I wasn't any better. And it wasn't like the Sekirei were incapable of it either. In fact, by their biology and their abilities, you would think that it was a very real possibility that is what they were purposely designed to do.

I seem to remember Beni threatening to kill Minato in the story and Karasuba, even in the reality we lived in now, didn't much care about even casual murder. None of that original generation did. 

One of them had killed my Father after all. 

But that was self defense. 

Or at least the Disciplinary Squad would of thought it was. 

Ugh, my head began to ache just thinking about it all.

"I'm happy to hear that, but it's something that is probably going to come up and I want you two to understand now that its not always going to be easy, being with me." 

"You don't feel happy." Haihane stated, looking me dead in the eyes, "You feel sad." I cursed internally, my guilt must of been bleeding through. "Have you killed anyone Ashikabi-sama?" I thought back to the conversation earlier with my mother. 

"Yes." I stated simply, though the feelings inside me were anything but. Unconsciously I noted my hand had come to rest on the necklace hidden under my T-shirt, the pulsing waves of comfort soothing my tortured mind. 

"I will do as you command, Ashikabi-sama." Haihane answered, bowing her head again. She was dead serious. 

"Yeah! Sekirei are made for fighting! You heard my pledge!" Benitsubasa chirped in agreement. 

I sighed at Haihane calling me master again, but yes I did remember Beni's pledge. In fact, surprisingly I remembered both of theirs, as if the words were seared into my memory. I had speculated that the sekirei's pledges, or norito, were an aspect of themselves put into words. Destiny and being all rolled up into one. 

'Like software.' 

But that wasn't completely right, it felt like it was more. It was the bridge between us that had been formed. Or was it a melding? Where did I truly end and they begin?

Either way I would have to blood them and soon. Thankfully I knew of a somewhat safe place to do so. It was for their safety as much as for my own benefit. 

"'Palm of my pledge crush the stones torturing my ashikabi', I remember." I nodded towards the pint-sized alien warrior then regarded the other, "I believe you Haihane. But those are just words, we will have to put them to the test."

"Yah! Who're we going to fight! I'm ready, let me at 'em!" I had to reach across the table to hold her down. 

"Not now, but soon. But first, I need you to understand something." I cleared my throat, "Killing is wrong. It always is. But people do it anyways. Why?" I questioned authoritatively, I did not want to give the wrong impression. "My father told me once, that those with great power are always going to be tempted to use it-" 

"To crush those weaklings!" Benitsubasa shouted, which attracted more than a few eyes over to our table. 

"Hrm, no. To use it, but it was up to the individual to decide how that power was employed." 

"Ehh?" Confusion, coming from both of them. 

"Look, if you punch someone, does that mean you are a bad person?" I was floundering, but thankfully ever reliable Haihane came to my rescue. 

"It would depend on why you decided to punch them?" She answered slowly, as if unsure of her answer and she flinched when I snapped my fingers. 

"Exactly! And who decides if it is a morally acceptable reason?" I was getting to the heart of things here. 

"Duh, me! That's why I punched 'em cuz I was right!" 

"Sort of. It basically comes down to what you value versus who you want to be. Protecting something you love? I would call that valuable, protecting yourself? Certainly." I held my fist with my hand, "Avenging someone? That's selfish, but it still has value." That maybe was a little on the nose. "The only one who can truly tell you what is right or wrong is yourself." I shifted in my seat. 'Well here goes.'

"I am going to kill Hiroto Minaka." I looked at them both, judging their reactions. 

"The Professor? Jeeze. Yah, he's dumb and all but what did he do to you?" Benitsubasa scratched her head. Haihane nodded her head in agreement.

"He took someone from me and I am going to make him pay." Old, buried anger began to rise in my belly and I let it show in my voice and expressed through the bond, "I will do almost anything to accomplish that, just like I will do almost anything to win this so called game. If anyone stands in my way I will cut them down." 

The girls paled, both of them, as they felt my aged hatred, grown and tended to for almost twenty years. Benitsubasa visibly shivered. I continued. 

"I tell you this because I know that I have basically forced you into my life. I know I have tied your future to my own and taken away your freedom. If you do not wish to follow me down this path then I under-" 

"Shut up!" The woman across from me exclaimed, shooting across the table and grabbing my face in her hands. "What part of 'forever and ever' didn't you understand? Idiot!" Those beautiful crimson eyes glared into my own as Benitsubasa faced me down fearlessly. "And ya' didn't take ANYTHING from me! But you did give me EVERYTHING!" She emphasized each point with a poke to my chest ending with a shake of her head, "I don't care about all these morals and stuff, I care about you! No matter what!" Benitsubasa scooted backwards off the table and took her seat once more, dragging my hand with her as she did. I knew the entire restaurant was now undoubtedly staring at us but I couldn't care less. My hand was still intertwined with Beni's and another soon joined it. 

"We are yours Michael. But you also belong to us. You are our Ashikabi. We are your sekirei. Your burdens are ours to share." Haihane smiled at me in a way that melted my heart. "If you want your enemies gone, tell us and it will be done. If you want something destroyed, wish it and we will make it so." Her eyes took on a hard edge, "And anyone that dares to harm my Ashikabi in any way they will die where they stand." My head was flush with a tangle of potent emotions, but I understood enough to know that they both meant every single word. 

"Yeah! We'll kick their butt!" 

"You..." Words failed me as I was bathed in love and trust that dwarfed my own. If was, humbling. "I do not deserve it but....thank you." That these two, as horribly stunted and tough as their lives had been, felt this way, about me! It was beautiful !

At that moment I knew I would never be as close to another living being as I was to these two. 

"Of course you do! Otherwise you wouldn't be my husband duh!" This time it was my turn to blush. Inside, I felt like a great weight had been lifted off my chest, the second of such, as the first had been when I had hung up after talking to Mom. 

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to please calm your friend down. The other guests are becoming uncomfortable." The waiter admonished us and I halfheartedly apologized, not even bothering to look at her as I did, too enamored with the utterly frustrating yet endlessly delightful beauties in front of me to care.

Shortly after that the food arrived. I watched amused as most of the plates were stacked in front of Benitsubasa, the pink dynamo not even waiting for the last of them to be set before tearing into the proffered meal with gusto. 

"Thanks." I reflexively offered when my own dish was served, Haihane keenly eyeing it with interest. 

"That smells amazing." She commented hungrily, licking her lips. 

'I guess a sekirei is still a sekirei in the end.' I joked, smearing butter over the surface of the steaming treat. The maple syrup was next, drizzled heavily over every possible surface. I cut a portion off and stabbed it with my fork, raising it halfway to my lips. 

However, I thought better of it. Poor Haihane's food had still not appeared and she looked downright pitiable! Instead of feeding myself, I steered my cutlery over to her instead. 

"Want some?" I waggled the fork in front of her nose and chuckled as she went cross eyed. "Go ahead Hane-chan, I'm happy to share." Hearing my encouragement she opened her mouth wide and I deposited the morsel inside. I drew the fork away, but she held onto it for a second, creating suction with her mouth as she cleaned the syrup off the utensil with her tongue. 

It was unexpectedly sexy, but the way she lit up while chewing was expectantly adorable. 

"It's good!" She said, as if surprised by that fact. 

"Of course it is, you gotta trust your Ashikabi right? I wouldn't steer you wrong, not about pancakes." I joked. Soon though, Beni was kicking me none to lightly under the table. 

"Oi! Feed me too!" She opened her petite mouth, which surprisingly turned out to be pretty damn big. Indeed, bits of half chewed food were still partly visible. 

"Nuh uh, you got your own food Red. I'm just feeding the hungry out of charity. Would you like some more Hane-chan?" The grey haired sekirei nodded her head eagerly, leaning forward and opening her mouth. A final kick to the shin and a defeated scowling Benitsubasa attacked her food with renewed passion, grumbling under her breath. 

Despite her grumpy act, the bond showed that she was happy.

So was Haihane and despite my thoughts earlier about ruining the mood, I found that I was too.

And that was alcomplain

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Wow! That is so freakin' cool!" Benitsubasa was once again stuck to the window, this time to the thick glass of the light rails viewport. We were taking the train back to my apartment and the two of them were enjoying the view from the elevated tracks. 

I had to agree with the sentiment though, it was impressive. Shinto Teito was quite the sight, even more so now that there seemed to be a new building going up in every ward! Minaka and his MBI goons might be authoritarian shitheels, but damn if they weren't putting an assload into infrastructure and urban development! 

Benitsubasa was probably referring to the giant yellow crane that was we were currently passing. Easily forty stories tall, the massive machine was busy moving a palletized group of steel girders to the construction's upper levels. 

"Yeah, wait until you see the ones at Teito Towers, they're twice that size." I pointed to said tower, far off in the distance and she stood on her tippy toes, trying to get a better view. After a minute of excited viewing, Beni turned away from the window and sagged down slightly. 

"Monkey, there's just so much of, of everything!" She held her gloved hands to her temples and rubbed them. I stood next to her and put my arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, I know. Honestly I prefer Daisen." I snuggled up to the diminutive beauty and kissed her tenderly on the top of the head.

"That's where your Mom lives?" Haihane asked, sidling up to me from the other side. I happily allowed her into my embrace as well, placing my hand on her ass. Haihane colored, but didn't complain. 

"Yeah, it's a small town, only a couple of thousand of people. It's right on the ocean too and you can smell the salt air year round, the mountains are beautiful and the forests are lush." I dreamily described the place where I had my second childhood. "My dad used to take me camping in the mountains during the summer months. When you woke up, the entire valley was covered in fog and it looked like we were staying on a floating island, high above the sky." 

"Wow that sounds awesome! When can we visit?" Benitsubasa asked, leaning into my side. 

"I would like to meet your family. The family of my Ashikabi must be great people." Haihane sounded like she was buttering me up, but I knew she was being completely sincere. 

"They are, I think you'd like my sister too. Her name's Emiru and she a little older than you. She's in college now though, so we'd have to wait until she was on break." I kept my eyes peeled on the little screen that kept track of our location on the train line. I needed to take the girls shopping and there was a neat underground market the stop before the stop we would usually use to go home. 

"Oh you have a little sister? What is that like?" Haihane wondered aloud and I chuckled. 

"She's not so little anymore, she's actually taller than me." I admitted none too proudly, "It was nice though, she's always had my back. Even when I was being stupid. Not that we didn't fight, but you know, it was usually over stupid things." 

"I suppose." Haihane said.  

"I mean it's not like you two didn't have any sibling drama of your own. I mean having 108 sisters and brothers is a bit more than I had to deal with." I held my hands apart to show how big the gap between us was. After I said that Benitsubasa put her hands behind her head and shrugged. 

"I dunno, I never really liked any of those.losers anyways." She arrogantly announced. 

"You liked Suppai, so much so that you two could literally not stop talking to each other." Haihane deadpanned before turning her attention back to me and shaking her head in exasperation. "That is what I had to deal with, endless bickering." 

"Suppai?" I posed. I had never heard of a charcter named that before. 'Stomach Acid? Who the hell named her that?" 

"Yeah, tall, skinny, green hair, shot acid out of her hands." Beni waved the question away. 

'Well that explains the name.'

"She was our roommate when we got transferred to Special Projects."  The white haired girl explained, "she, um, was deactivated in a training accident." Benitsubasa snorted in response to that. 

"Yeah, 'training accident'." The pinkette held up her two pointer fingers, "Ooh hi Karasuba-senpai, how is the weather?" She spoke in an exaggerated falsetto before violently sawing one of the fingers against the other. "I'm moody and stupid, you talk to me you die, bleh!" 

"Well I'm sorry, about your friend." I glanced at the train's information screen, our stop was up next. Benitsubasa pushed away from me and turned back to stare out the window again. 

"It's fine, she was a jerk too." She frowned as she muttered, but I could feel sadness in there too. I rubbed her upper back.

"Haihane, you mentioned you were in something, special projects?" 

"Mmm, yes. They separated us from the rest of the other sekirei a few years ago. We received...different training than the rest of them." I caught onto her hesitation. 

"Karasuba?" She nodded in response to my question. 

"Yes, she was supposed to be our leader." Haihane looked up at the ceiling, her face completely neutral. "She wasn't a very good one." 

"Mahh, mahh, it's cuz we're awesome! With our special powers those rejects just couldn't keep up!" Benitsubasa's boasting was expected but the "special powers" but got me thinking. Were they really any different than the other sekirei? What did that mean?

"Menu" I stated and the game menu appeared. I navigated to the newly created "Companions" tab. In the sub menu I found something that perked my interest. 

A list of names, headed up by a portrait shot of the person in question was the first thing I saw. Then their name was listed, then information about their current HP and SP and finally a green check mark under a column marked "Status". 

"...we were adjusted differently than the...." I clicked on Beni's portrait next to the arrow and was brought to a different screen entirely. 

It was a full body photo realistic portrait of Benitsubasa as she looked today. Next to it was a readout of her current stats, along with her name and a blank field titled "Status". 

Though there was an addition that didn't show up usually when using Observe. 

"Level: 65 (1058/6500)" 

'Huh, I guess they can level up too? I wonder if anything else has changed?' With the presence of the "Status" identifier, did that mean that the specific peculiarities of my body applied to them now too? That would be awesome if true! I would have to test it later.

"...kicked their butts! Even that cow....."

There were two other sub tabs on Beni's screen so I clicked the next one. 

Titled "Talents" it contained pretty much what I expected it to, though I didn't really know what all of it meant. 

"
Active
 >Shockwave: Level 2
 >Shredder: Level 1
 >Pulverizer: Level 2
 >Earthquake: Level 1
 >Blood Festival: Level 2
 >Soul Explosion: Level 1" 

Passive
 >Sekirei Core: Level MAX
 >Energy Manipulation: Level 2"

I cackled gleefully. I opened Haihane's screen and was similarly pleased. 

"
Active
>Talons of Execution: Level 3
>Claws of Execution: Level 1
>Shrieking Claws: Level 2
>Piercing Thrust: Level 1
>Beserker State: Level 1
>Claws of Thunder: Level 1

Passive
>Sekirei Core: Level MAXED
>Elemental Affinity- Lighting: Level 2
"

I switched back to Benitsubasa's tab and expanded the entry for "Shockwave."

"Shockwave: Level 2
A dangerous tantrum, this attack is a great icebreaker at parties! Danger! Not recommended for use on unstable surfaces!
Effect: By punching a surface, the companion can send a directed linear shockwave towards their opponent. Attack strength scales with the strength used for instigating blow. 
Max Range: 10 meters."

'Neat!' I scrolled through the others, finally coming to the last. 

"^Soul Explosion: Level 1
The technique of the Red Sekirei's soul is an expression of her burning love for her Ashikabi. And massive explosions! 
Effect: The companion creates a deadly energy-based attack that creates a massive, homing explosion. Damage is dependent on current CBL
Special Requirements: Norito"

"Earth to monkey! Hellllloooo...." 

'Damn, I can't wait to see that in action!' I switched to the last tab. I had seen this one earlier and it maybe intrigued me the most out of them all. 

"Inventory: Shared"

I opened it and wasn't too surprised to see the standard inventory screen. It was empty right now, but I wondered about the implications. They should be able to-

"Ow!" I yelped, reflexively clutching my shin where someone had kicked me, hard enough that my HP dropped a bit. "The hell Benitsubasa?" 

"You've been staring into space for like 5 minutes! You're not paying me enough attention, so you must suffer!" The mental midget declared it as if it was law, cracking her gloved fists to emphasize her point.

"We were concerned." Haihane calmly translated, though she looked disquieted with my my behavior as well. Which was understandable. 

But goddamn that hurt! 

"For your information, I was busy looking over your character sheet in the game menu!" I scowled, "You know Red, anyone ever tell you you got a real temper?" 

"That's right! I've been told it's my most endearing feature!" Beni smugly crossed her arms. 

"Most irritating you mean." Haihane snickered. 

"That's what I said!" 

"Before I was 'endearingly' interrupted, I managed to find out that you two should have access to the inventory system now." 

"Awesome." Haihane whispered. "But how are we supposed to use it?" 

"I don't know, I usually just say 'Menu' or 'Inventory'." I explained, though I knew by now that wasn't exactly it. I could say the word in conversation and it wouldn't appear, it had more to do with intent.

"Menu" Haihane stated and her eyes widened to the size of saucers. Weirdly, I couldn't see anything, but it was blindingly obvious from her reaction that she could. 

"What are you seeing?" I was curious. In the background Benitsubasa kept saying "Menu" over and over again to apparently no result, each time sounding more and more frustrated. "Beni, you need to think of what you want to happen as you say it." 

"Huh?" She scratched her head, "Menu? Aha! I knew that! I was just kidding!" I shook my head and turned back to the sane one. 

"It's a Menu." She offered and I nodded, indicating for her to continue. "I see a picture of myself and there are a lot of words." 

"OK, imagine yourself clicking the word at the top, on the far right of the screen. It should be, 9 letters long." 

"OK, now what?" 

"Do you see a lot of little black boxes?" 

"Yes." 

"OK great, hold on." I opened up my inventory and searched around the top header of the menu, as I suspected, there was a new tab. 

"Inventory: Shared"

Seeing that I switched back to my personal hammer-space and transferred an item over, depositing it in the new space. 

"Oh! Something is here!" She exclaimed excitedly. I smiled at her child-like enthusiasm. 

"OK now think about that object appearing in your hand and..." 

"Air!" Haihane squeaked with surprise as a wrapped pastry appeared suddenly in front of her hand and fell to the ground. 

"Ah, yeah, I guess I should of warned you." The train began slowing to a stop as our destination approached. Haihane bent over and picked the slightly misshapen bread up off the ground. She rolled it over in her hands as if expecting it to turn out to be some trick. 

"Hey, no freakin' fair! I want bread too!" Benitsubasa stomped over and tried to snatch the packaged treat out of the other girl's hand. However Haihane was quicker and yanked it out of her reach. Soon the two were playing a one on one game of keep away. "Give it!" Benitsubasa finally managed to snag a cellophane corner and the two began to tug. 

Of course this predictably resulted in the plastic wrapping ripping right down the middle and the tasty treat splattering on the ground. The two looked at each other for a moment and then Beni turned away in a huff. 

"Whatever, I didn't want that flavor anyways..." 

I rubbed my head in embarrassment in what becoming an increasingly familiar feeling. 

"You two are ridiculous, now pick that up. this is our stop." 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

The walk to the underground market was mostly uneventful, I had the girls practice stowing and retrieving items from the inventory as a way to keep them busy. 

Well, mainly to keep Benitsubasa busy. 

Eventually though they got the hang of using the new function and their attention turned outwards again. 

As expected, Benitsubasa was all over the street, sticking her nose into every new situation or item she encountered. I had to apologize many times for my companion's rude actions, to the point that my Japanese sensibilities were soon teetering on the brink of madness. 

Thankfully after patiently explaining to a nice older woman pushing a pram, that no, my friend didn't mean it as an insult when she called her kid a "baby monkey", we finally arrived at our destination. 

"Alright, we're here to shop for clothes and other things." I looked at Beni meaningfully, "Now I don't need you going crazy, but don't feel like you need to skimp either." That part went to Haihane.  "Just get what you feel you need. 

"I don't understand what this "shopping" is Ashikabi-sama. Are we going to steal these people's things?" Haihane gestured at a nearby jewelry store, which immediately garnered the Red Sekirei's attention. 

"Ooooh shiny!" She began to move towards the stall with raised hands, but I quickly grabbed her by the pony tail and gently yanked her back to my side.

"Oh no you don't you little menace, we're not going to steal anything. We're going to buy it." I received only blank stares in return. 

After a quick down and dirty lesson explaining the basic tenants of capitalism, we ended up walking into a boutique that specialized in providing trendy younger women with trendy things to wear. It was a mix of modern and retro styled clothing, mixed with designer printed t-shirts and shoes. Really an eclectic selection. 

"So you're telling me that people just give 
you this 'money' to do stuff for them?" Benitsubasa asked, eying a nearby display of mannequins dressed in what I assumed to be the lastest fashion. The colorful lineup showcased a series of jackets and warmer clothing, as the temperature would soon begin to decrease, the country slowly sliding into fall.

"Yah, that's the gist of it." I said, raising my hand and signaling for a worker to come assist us. 

"So where do they get the money from then?" Benitsubasa asked while lifting up a skirt on one of the mannequins. She scowled and pulled back the elastic band on the revealed thong underwear before letting it go with a snap. 

"They get it from doing things for other people, who give them money." I explained and she muttered something under her breath that ended with 'stupid.' I gave her a look. "Look, just work with the staff and pick out some new clothes. Easy peasy."

"What's wrong with what I'm wearing now?" Benitsubasa snarled. I shook my head. 

"Well wearing an MBI uniform doesn't really make any sense anymore right?" The pinkette looked at me skeptically, but thankfully I was saved from any more griping. 

"Hello sir, thank you for stopping by, how may I assist?" The salesperson, a handsome, though slightly effeminate, well dressed man bowed as he addressed me, which I returned, though not as deeply. 

"Hello, my friends here recently flew in from abroad for a convention, but they lost their luggage. Can you perhaps assist them in picking out a few changes of clothes." I moved closer to him and whispered the next part. "They don't know the local women sizes, so if you could help them out with that I would appreciate it greatly." 

"Of course sir." He pressed a button on his radio and turned away. "Tamura-san please come to the front of the store to assist a customer." 

"Thanks." With that taken care of I waited until he walked away before I quickly wheeled on the likely root cause of any problems. "Behave." I threatened the pinkette with a pointed finger and she rolled her eyes in response. 

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Satisfied that that was the best I was going to get out of her, I addressed Haihane. 

"Haihane, I'm counting on you, please make sure she does." Haihane nodded her agreement and I continued. "I'm going to go over to that store over there and pick up some phones and some toiletries. Is there anything else you guys need?" 

"Like what?" She demurely asked. 

"Like, uh, you know, erhm, 'feminine products'?" I blushed and played with my shirt collar. 'Well this is embarrassing.' 

"Feminine pro-?" 

"Tampons, pads, whatever, you know." Ugh, damn me for being the considerate sort. 

"Um, I don't know what those are so no, I guess?" Haihane looked at me and shrugged. 

"Ah ok, well lucky you I guess." I awkwardly stated before I threw my thumb over my shoulder. "Over there." The two nodded and I fixed Beni-chan with a death glare. "Remember, behave." 

I got a blown a raspberry in return. 

I hoped things would turn out alright. 

After all, what was the worst that could happen? 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

'Well, color me surprised.' I reentered the shop about thirty minutes later, inventory chalk full of goodies. Towels, toothbrushes and other various sundries of different types, as well as a few gifts. 

So far, there was no indication of anything being wrong. No screaming, no police, no sounds of fighting or fires breaking out. 

I breathed deeply in and out through my nose, happy to be wrong. 

I made my way to the back of the store where the changing rooms were located and heard familiar giggling coming from one of the stalls. I knocked. 

"Beni-chan, Hai-chan are you decent?" There was a rustling of clothes and some more hushed conversation before the door cracked open and a female employee slipped out. 

"Just a moment sir, they are still getting changed." She notified me politely with a bow. I Observed her idly, Tamura Yukiko. 

"Thanks, Tamura-san was it?" I stepped away from the door and back into the showroom. She followed me out. 

"Yes sir." She looked at me and blushed, fidgeting with her fingers. It was obvious she wanted go ask me something, but propriety prevented her from doing so. 

"I apologize for those two, they're quite the handful." I frowned and amended my statement, "Well at least the short one is. They didn't give you any trouble did they?" She held up her hands and waved them in front of my face. 

"What? No! Not at all! I was just wondering..." She still hesitated so I decided to prompt her. 

"Wondering what?" 

"Are they models or idols or something, I mean, I've never seen anyone so, so..." She trailed off, face ablaze. 

"Pretty?" I laughed at the thought of sour Benitsubasa in a magical girl costume performing a J-pop song. 'Maybe if we ever go broke, well we'll call that plan N, for never gonna happen!'

"Yes!" She answered exasperatedly, undoubtedly comparing her looks, dolled up in makeup, to the otherworldly creatures. I subtly looked her over. She was pretty enough I supposed, but no human woman would serve themselves well by making that comparison. 

"Yeah, they are." I replied simply. "Are you going to school around here?" Her title was "Part Time College Student" so I knew the answer already. 

"Yeah." She looked crestfallen and I felt a surge of pity in my chest. 

"Have you looked into modeling yourself?" She looked uo at me with renewed interest. 

"Why? Are you their manager!?"

"No, but I have an eye for pretty faces and you could definitely do worse than try." I smiled my most charming smile and her eyes roamed over my broad chest and imposing build. She blushed again. 

"Really, uh sir?" 

"Of course!" I heard a door open and close and turned toward the back room. "Ahh, here they are, you girls find what you-hah! Haaaaaaaah!" My eyes darted all over the place, never settling on one area for too long before they were yanked away forcefully to somewhere else.  

Hot pants, high heels, mini skirts and tight, too small tops swirled through my mind as my legs betrayed me, wobbling unsteadily as I struggled to remain upright. 

"What? Dont'cha like it?" Benitsubasa pulled at her black tight fitting tube top that had the English word "SLUT" written across it in bright pink letters.

"My, my, innocent sekirei,"  I muttered under my breath like a crazy person. "what, what have I done to you?"

"I think he does, maybe he doesn't like the color?" Haihane lifted her tiny leather skirt to inspect it, revealing her g-string covered snatch for everyone to see. 

"Status: Minor Bleeding(30s)" 

My head hit the floor with a "clunk".

"Ashikabi-sama!" "Monkey!" 

"Oh Kami he's bleeding! Someone call an ambulance!" 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Ashikabi-sama, are you sure you're alright?" Haihane asked me innocently as we stopped in front of my apartment building. I whirled on the poor girl, pulling the bits of remaining tissue out of my nose. 

"We will never, ever, EVER, speak of this again! Do you understand?" I eyed her menacingly and she gulped, nodding her head. 

"Psh, sure thing 'nosebleeder'!" Benitsubasa cackled and adjusted her jacket, thankfully covering the scandalous clothing she was wearing underneath. They hadn't only bought sexy clothes, thank R.O.B! 

I growled at her and she laughed, dancing away when I tried to grab the little tease. 

"Seriously Q-Tip, yah can't let Monkey push yah around. He's gonna get a big head if yah do. Or maybe that's just the lump from where his head hit the floor, hard to tell!" She stuck her tongue out at me and I sighed, reigning in my urge act like even more of an immature goober. Well...

"Hey Beni-chan, what's that?" I pointed behind her. 

"What, where?" She turned her head only to find the blank cat like eyes of Killer Queen staring into her own.

I chuckled as she leaped a couple of feet straight off the ground, shrieking as she went. Haihane giggled too, but she still even now warily regarded the cat-like Stand with some concern. I had figured out how to call the phantom out and put it away and I mostly understood how it worked, but still the thing was a bit of mystery. "Jojo's Bizarre Adventures" was never my most watched series during my first life and I didn't know too much about the deep lore. Still it certainly had its uses. 

"Hah, hah! You're a dead monkey when I get my hands on yah!" Benitsubasa released her grip on her chest and swaggered toward me, but I intercepted her instead and brought her and Haihane in for a side hug. 

"Welcome to the start of our new adventure!" I grandiosely announced, the two of them giving a once over to the rather dilapidated structure that I had been living in for the last several months. I let them soak it in for a moment before I steered them towards the stairs. "Come on, let's get you settled in." 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Welcome to your new home!" I proclaimed again, sweeping my arms around the tiny space. "Here let me give you the grand tour. There's the kitchen and that doors the leads to the bathroom." I kicked off my shoes as I entered. Flopping over, I laid on the bed and patted the futon. "And this is the bed. It's where where we'll be sleeping." I finished and looked at the pair expectantly. 

"It's uh..." Haihane looked around. 

"Cozy?" I suggested and she fixed me with a deadpan stare. 

"What a dump!" Benitsubasa pushed Haihane out of the way and stomped over to where I was reclining. "Move over!" 

"Come on jeeze, take your shoes off at least! Look I know it might not be much, but I wasn't really expecting company." 

"At least it's clean..." Haihane muttered, taking off her shoes and carefully setting then next to mine. 

"See! It's not so bad. It's a nice neighborhood and the neighbors are quiet." 

"If yah say so." Beni shucked her shoes and chucked them at the door before diving into the bed. She rolled around for a moment, making herself comfortable before she eyed me with a lustful gaze. "Oh ashikabi-kun, I think I need a massage after all that hard, uh shopping." She slowly unzipped her jacket, revealing more and more of her tantalizing bare flesh. 

I licked my lips and attentively sat up. 

The garment had just slid to her shoulders and the letters "LU" revealed when she stopped and held a petite finger to her lips. 

"Oh, wait. I forgot...I HATE YOU RIGHT NOW!" Her foot lashed out and lightly smacked me in the the shoulder, which still was enough to bowl me over.

"Jeeze, do I need to check you for ticks or something? You sure are surly." I picked myself off the bed and shook my head, "Not the way a young lady should act, not at all!" I heard a giggle from behind me.

"Hmpf!" The cranky sekirei covered herself with my blanket and spun away. 

"That's alright Ashikabi-sama, let the washboard wear itself out." Two slender hands placidly rested themselves on my shoulders and I turned to eagerly face my much more agreeable companion. 

"Too true, too true my dear, though do I sense an ulterior motive?" 

"No, Ashikabi-sama. I just look forward to having you all to myself." Haihane grinned at me, her single exposed eye glimmering with mischief. 

"Oh you are just full of avarice Miss. Haihane, aren't you?" I kicked my legs out in front of me and grabbed her by the outside of her thick thighs, just below the hem of her skirt. "Though I guess I can feed that demon for you, if you want." I slid my hands up until I reached her hips and ran them under the thin material of her underwear. I pulled up, slightly wedging her thong into her slit. 

Haihane let out a gasp and I laughed. 

"Come here." She obeyed, taking a kneeling position and straddling my waist between cream colored thighs. I kissed her softly and her azure wings burst from her back. We held that for a moment before we parted. I felt through the bond that she wanted me, right now. And I knew she could feel I wanted her too, if the thick rod tenting my pants against her ass wasn't indication enough. 

But...

We had other things to do. 

So instead I kissed her again before whispering into her ear. 

"I have some things for you." She blinked, not expecting that. I gestured with my hand and a packed shopping bag from the electronics store I had visited earlier appeared. No sooner had I pulled the object in question out of the bag than she snatched it out of my hands. She held it aloft reverently, eyes glimmering with excitement. "Do you like it?" I asked. 

What a stupid question, the answer was of course obvious as squealed happily and threw her arms around my head, kissing me for a third time, adding to our impromptu light show. 

"I love it." She was so happy, over such a trivial thing, but it was such a pure feeling! I felt my heart melt and myself fall in love all over again. "You remembered!"

"Bond Up!: Haihane" 

"Of course I did, there's games too!" I laughed, holding the still rather full bag up. She grabbed that too and detached herself from me, laying all the blister packs out on the bed and looking at all of the colorful covers. "That's not all either, I have some more stuff, but it's more for everyone." 

"Hey! Where's my gift?" Benitsubasa, wrapped up in the blanket like a shawl with her face the only part poking out, whined. 

"Gift, gift?" I made a show of looking around and patting my pockets. "Ah, darn." I snapped my fingers in mock realization," Looks like I forgot! Silly me, maybe next time Beni-chan!" I laughed but stopped dead when I heard the unmistakable sound of a sniffle. 

'Oh god is she seriously going to cry! Abort! Abort!'

I leaned towards her with my hands held out in a placating manner. "No wait! Benitsubasa, please don't cry, see here, here!" I materialized a small box and held it up so she could see. "I was just joking! Of course I got you something! I wouldn't ever..." I finally raised my head up to see her teary face and apologize, only find a smug smirk instead. 

"Bahahahaha, baka Monkey-kun! You should see the look on your face!" She plucked the box from my frozen fingers and inspected it, before glancing at me. "That's payback for earlier moron." She fiddled with it for a second before finally managing to open it. "Of course I knew you would get me a gift, I'm the best after all!" She reached inside and pulled out what was held within. Casually, she tossed the empty packaging over her shoulder before squinting her eyes to take a close look at what she held. 

"This is... "Her breath hitched, but she quickly cleared her throat, "It's-it's fine, Monkey good job, you don't suck too much today." Always at odds with what was inside and without, Benitsubasa carefully fastened the dainty chain around her neck and held the pendant I had gifted her. It was a simple thing, but well made and costing more than all of Haihane's games put together. It was shaped like a infinity symbol, gold with tiny rubys inset along the frame. I had seen it and noted the color and bought it without hesitation. 

"I thought the color would match your eyes..." Our bond was flooded with warmth and guilt. Benitsubasa looked down at the ground shamefully, the up at me with trembling lips.

This time the tears were real. 

"Oh Monkey!" She shed the blanket and threw herself into me. She peppered my neck and face with kisses before nuzzling her head again my chest. "I could never stay mad at you!" I pet her head possessively. 

"I'll remember that in the future." I quipped, dropping my arms into a hug. "Love me?" 

"Love you." Her muffled voice responded, still pressed against my brawny chest.

"I love you too." 

The next hour or so saw me unloading all of the things I had bought, which included a flat screen TV and a high end desktop gaming computer. Seeing as we had no extra furniture, the girls stacked their clothing on top of my dresser for now. 

"I'll have to go and find a new place for us to live." 

"Why, this is cozy." All three of us laid in bed and Benitsubasa was warming herself against my side. Haihane was quietly playing her new game system. 

"I agree, but if we are going to be recruiting more Sekirei, then this small of a house just isn't going to cut it." I nodded to the small room. "We would be buried in all the clothes alone."

"Wait! Siince when were we talking about going after new sekirei!" Benitsubasa pushed herself up and regarded me with suspicion. 

"Since before I met you actually, I have been looking for No-2 for a long time." I felt the waves of jealousy and self consciousness hit before she probably even knew they were there. I held her hand, "Nobody will ever replace you Beni-chan. I swear it. My heart is more than big enough to go around." 

"Yes. I am irreplaceable, aren't I?" She bragged again before grimacing, "I just don't like the idea of having to share my Monkey with some stupid bimbos!" 

"Matsu isn't stupid by any means Beni, she's a brain type after all."

"So she's a nerd? Ugh that's even worse!" She rolled away from me and onto her side, her little tube top doing all interesting sorts of things as it was moved and stretched over her pert little breasts. "You know, Ashikabi-kun, you seem dead set on ruining my good mood." I smriked at her. 

"Would beating the shit out of something help?" 

Benitsubasa immediately perked up, cautious excitement written all over her face. 

"Really?" 

I nodded. 

"Oh can we, can we, can we! It's been toooooo long since I got to go wild on some weaklings!" She got on her knees and pulled at my shirt. 

"Yah, I figure it's still early and we might as well do a little team building exercise. Plus I need to see how you fight." 'And to see if you can kill.' Went left unsaid. "If were gonna win the Sekirei plan, as well as the game, we're gonna have to work together." Knowing what I had seen the past few days, that was undeniably true. Benitsubasa bobbed her head. 

"While I don't need any stupid teamwork, I'll be happy to prove to you I can handle a 'real fight'! I'll show you that I'm the strongest!" 

I guess she was still butthurt about earlier. 

"I know you're strong Benitsubasa, but you saw what that freak did to Karasuba." I didn't say anything, but that seemed to have the intended effect, she calmed herself and nodded. See, she could be reasonable when she tried! I didn't know what level Miya was at now, but I knew we would have to defeat her at the end of this, that was how the plan would unfold. Speaking of which....

"Hey Haihane, Beni-chan, how much do you guys know about the Sekirei Plan?" 

Blank stares all around. 

"You know, MBI's master plan to make all the Sekirei fight to the death for a chance to be with their destined one forever in a giant Royal Rumble? A wish granted as a reward?" 

"Never heard it, but it sounds great, when can we start!" Benitsubasa scratched her ear. 

Haihane reluctantly lowered her game and shrugged. "I haven't heard of it either, sorry. Maybe we didn't have that lesson?" 

That was a possibility, or they just hadn't been told yet. 

"Well, I have reason to believe that it is going to start sometime at the beginning of next year, so we had better get training now! That's only three months so we don''t have to waste!" 

"Heh, training? Who needs it! But if I get a chance to put a smack down on some losers, I'm in!" 

"We should work together to defeat our enemies, and protect our Ashikabi." Haihane turned to me, "Though fights between sekirei are always one on one." .

"Rules are meant to be broken and remember in the end all that matters is winning." I informed them sagely and they both nodded in agreement. "Good, now go get changed into something suitable for combat, we'll leave when you're done.' 

"You still never told us where we're going!" Benitsubasa stated, following Haihane over to their clothes pile and casually pulling her top off over her head as she walked, Haihane also stepping out of her skirt before ditching her blouse. I hungrily drank in the sight of the two of them in just their underwear. 

'Fuck, I'm a lucky man!' I distracted myself with answering instead opening my inventory and moving so things around. "Alternate dimension, it's a place where you can farm items and gain experience by fighting enemies." 

"Oh, is that it?" Beni's voice was slightly muffled as she pulled her new clothing over her head. "Yeah, that's totally normal, completely explains everything.," 

"A dungeon experience? How exciting!" Haihane broke through her usual calm demeanor and bounced up and down with excitement, which seeing from behind was, quite lovely

"Pretty much yeah." I stopped my blatant oogling and moved over to the door, slipping on my sneakers and lacing them tight. I figured a dungeon would be a safe way to experiment and test the girl's fighting prowness. I didn't really know what their "training" before this consisted of, but I doubted it was up to snuff. 

"Well hurry up! Stop wasting my time, there's losers to pulverize out there!" Benitsubasa announced, bouncing on her toes to loosen herself up in anticipation of violence. She had dressed herself in her old pink calf-high boots, red spandex shorts and a new black halter top. Her enhanced finger-less gloves were as always, present. 

"Ashikabi-sama, I am sorry but there is a problem." Haihane added. So had decided on a pair of grey ankle length pants held up by a series of leather belts, her black boots and a black hoodie with the Kanji for "Bloom" on it. 

"What is it?" 

"I do not have my weapons, so I will not be able to fight at my full capacity." She bowed, "I am sorry." 

'That's right, she uses metal claws or something right?' I remembered that from the manga and all of her special attacks mentioned it. I slapped my forehead. 'Does she really need them though?' 

"Um that's okay Haihane, have you ever fought without them?" 

"Um, yes. We were not allowed to spar with weapons back on the island...but I cannot use my stronger attacks..." She timidly admitted, crossing her arm over her stomach. 

"Inventory"

"OK, well hold on maybe I have...something...OK, I sent it over. Go ahead and take a look." 

Haihane summoned her "Inventory" and retrieved what I had placed inside. A pair of spiked knuckle duster, the razor sharp points on the ends about 6 cm each. I had never used them myself, but by this point in my life I had become a bit of a hoarder. 

"Ah!" Haihane slipped them onto her fingers and moved her hands through a series of strikes. Finally she brought them close to each other, a look of concentration on her face. 

"Wha-" I was interrupted by the shrieking sound of cracking electricity as a series of large bolts of lightning arced between the two weapons. The flashing light illuminated the whole room and left the smell of ozone lingering behind. 

"They will work." She simply stated. "But they are not optimal." 

"Affinity: Lighting, yeah duh." I scolded myself for being caught off guard. 

"Ashikabi-sama, what were those red things in the inventory?" Haihane asked curiously. 

"Those are health potions." I extracted two and handed one to each of them. "You drink them and they'll restore some HP, how much depends on the type. The yellow ones restore stamina, which you use when you do special techniques." Haihane held it up close to her face and inspected the little vial. "It'll heal wounds too, but that's not precise. If you want to rush healing specific injury, just pour it on where you're hurt instead." 

"Blegh, this smells horrible!" I looked over to Benitsubasa, who had popped the cap off of hers. 

"Yeah, but I'm warning you, these aren't foolproof, they won't reattach limbs or grow them back," Or at least thought they wouldn't. Thankfully I hadn't had  chance to test that. "So you still need to be careful, got that?" 

"I understand." 

"Alright, great, cool, let's go!" Beni exclaimed excitedly though I still had one thing to confirm. I materialized a combat knife in my hand and twirled it around so the handle was facing them. 

"Soon, but there's one more thing. I'll need you trust me." I looked at them seriously again. Beni threw up her hands in exasperation.

"Are you freakin kidding me!" 

"No I'm not, I need to see if you heal like me. My body is, well, it's weird, so I'm going to need one of you to cut yourself so-" 

Benitsubasa snatched the knife out of my hand and drove it right through her palm without hesitation. 

"WHAT THE FUCK!" I screamed, rushing to her and pulling out a bandage. I grabbed the knife and yankes it out, the wound making a sucking sound as it left. "Are you fucking crazy? I meant just a little cut! Jesus!" I applied the bandage and was relieved to see that the area glowed, the game mechanic working as intended. I lifted the sterile cloth away and revealed the fully scabbed over wound left behind. "You, you can't do that!" 

"I trust you. Completely, so I knew nothing bad would happen." Benitsubasa replied, her face calm despite the moistness in the corner of her eye. I held her hand. 

"Benitsubasa listen to me," she looked at me seriously, those crimson red eyes unflinchingly regarding me. My connection to her was filled with what I recognized as mostly pride, a little anger and surprisingly fear. "Promise me, please, that you will never take a stupid risk like that again!" 

"Psh, it worked out didn't it?" 

"Promise me!" I demanded, and she looked away. 

"Che, fine, whatever." She conceded, but I could tell that her heart wasn't in it. She was stubborn creature and despite whatever undying loyalty she for me, she was a woman of her own mind. I wouldn't be changing that anytime soon, if ever. 

"If I need you to take a idiotic risk like that I will tell you! Now here drink this." He offered her a potion and they both watched with surprise as the wound disappeared, leaving only a thin scar behind. "Now, did anything appear in front of you when you STUPIDLY did that?" 

"Yeah, two things did, one had some numbers?" She waved it away as not being important, but it was good enough for me. 

"Okay, good." This not reading thing was going to be a pain in my ass. I observed her and saw that her health was full again. 

We were finally ready to go. 

"Okay, now come here, both of you." I grabbed both of their hands, getting two blushes in response. "Are you ready?" 

A silent nod and...

"Hell yeah! Let's kick some butt!" Despite still being a little angry with her, I still managed a smile.

"Okay, now this might feel a little, weird." 

"Dungeon Create!"probam

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

Haihane's head kept spinning, even after her feet found solid ground underneath her again. She listed a few steps to the left, still feeling that awful stretching sensation that had suddenly seized her. 

Whatever Sogen had done, it had been disorienting to say the least. 

One moment they had been standing in their new home and now they were somewhere completely else! Even worse, the method of their arrival had left her dizzy and confused, though thankfulky that feeling was slowly fading away. 

"Blagh!" The sound of someone retching nearby made her raise her head, only to see Benitsubasa on her knees, puking her breakfast out all over the sandy ground. 

"Yeah, sorry. I guess I should of warned you about the teleportation, it's pretty nasty." Sogen awkwardly stated, patting the vomiting Sekirei softly on the back. Haihane herself held her stomach, controlling the sudden urge to join the other girl in her embarrassing predicament. 

Eventually Ben-chan's shaking stopped and she spat a few more gobs of saliva onto the ground. 

"No, I was right earlier Monkey, I DO hate you!" The smaller girl, rubbed her tender stomach, but look around in surprise. "What the hell? Where the heck did the apartment go?" 

"Weren't you listening to what I told you?" Sogen shook his head, he gestured to the alien landscape around them. "I transported us to a pocket dimension, a dungeon." 

Haihane looked around them, it was....

Amazing! 

They were situated on a sandy dune overlooking a town of some sort. It was not a modern town like she was used to, but everything looked old and slightly primitive. Like they had traveled back in time! 

Small wooden and stone houses were arrayed along side the few dirt streets that traveled towards to the center of the village and at the far end was what appeared to be a castle! It's tall grey  walls and spiked fortifications looked a little foreboding, but also majestic. Behind the walls, she could see another rough stone building, probably the keep, that was capped with four cone roofed towers, one at each corner. A wooden bridge led from the far end of the village and over a shallow water filled moat right up to the castle's gate. Which appeared to be open. 

'Just like a game!' She thought in wonderment, excited by the prospect of investigating everything further. 

"Okay, stick with me. There should be around sixty or seventy enemies here, plus the boss, so you each should have plenty to train with." Sogen helped Benitsubasa to her feet. " If I remember correctly, they're all around level 20 or so and the boss is 28?" He shook his head but continued. "Still though, you will be careful, understand?" He stared at Benitsubasa, who shrugged. Haihane nodded, she loved when her Ashikabi was like this, so serious and commanding. But she also loved when he was sweet and charming too. 

She blushed as she thought back to that wonderful moment that the had shared last night, after Beni-chan had gone to sleep. It had been incredible! Better than anything she had ever imagined, better than all those stupid films back on the island had said it would be! 

Even now, she could feel him at the edge of her mind, strong, confident and full of concern for their wellbeing.  "

Yah, yah, what are we fightin' anyways? Humans? Bears?" 

"Orks." Her Ashikabi smirked and pointed towards the town. 

It was about two hundred meters away, but indeed a group of things had emerged from the village streets and were headed their way. Large, green, bipedal ape-like creatures, brandishing a motley assortment of crude looking melee weapons, there was 8 of them and it seemed they knew they were here. 

"Orks? What the hell is that?" Benitsubasa showed her ignorance and Haihane decided to showcase her superior knowledge. 

"They are big green dumb evil creatures that like to fight." She smugly informed her comrade, though she looked to Sogen to confirm if that actually the case. He shrugged. 

"Yeah, pretty much. This level is called "The Green Menace" so its pretty obvious they weren't in town to make friends." He cocked his head to the side as he watched the group of savages in their progress. 

They had already crossed about half the distance from the town and she could now hear their beastial cries quite clearly. 

They seemed excited. 

"Well what are waiting for! It's clobbering time." Beni announced and Sogen looked at her strangley for a moment before shaking his head. 

"Three of us would be overkill for this, plus I want you to watch me go first." 

That's apparently not what the short girl wanted to hear. 

"Are you freakin' kidding me? How long will I have to wait!" She childishly threw her arms up in frustration and stamped her foot. Haihane snickered at her immature attitude. Some things never changed.

"If you're not going to follow orders, I can always send you back home if you want..." He was joking, but she detected a serious undertone. It was obvious that their Ashikabi was taking this seriously. 

"Fine! Just hurry up!" She gestured at the quickly approaching band of monsters. "Don't blame me if they get past ya'!" 

'Wow, they are big.' Haihane observed, looking at the creatures. Bigger than Sogen, bigger than even those weird sekirei that Karasuba had fought against back at MBI. This close and she could make out individual details. Their cruel beady red eyes, their huge tusk filled slobbering mouths and the thick black coating of dried blood that covered every one of their weapons. They undeniably had only one thing on their minds. 

Slaughter.

Despite herself, Haihane took a half step back, fear growing like a weed inside of her. Self doubt assailed her like a castle under seige. Ashamed she looked back to her Ashikabi, who stood fearlessly in the face of the pack of bloodthirsty enemies.

'What if I mess up? What if Sogen thinks I'm weak? What if...'

"Don't worry, they won't." He smiled back at them, that weird cat-like ghost materializing behind his shoulder as his body seemed to swell with newly created energy. "Now pay attention." 

In a blink he was gone, sprinting forward to meet the charging mob. Haihane's eyes kept pace with his movement's with little difficulty, but she still knew that she was seeing something that shouldn't be possible. She had seen enough humans in her lifetime to know that their species should not be able to move like that. In fact, she had seen worse showings from some of her less physically gifted kin!

Sogen reached the huge leader of the warband in a heartbeat, the green freak suddenly twisting its neck in dumb recognition as it belatedly recognized the newly arrived threat. It opened its mouth to bellow, the giant cleaver it was holding began to swing, but it was far, far too late. Her Ashikabi curled his fingers like claws and slashed them across the beast's abdomen, before seeming to spring to the side, all in one quick motion.

Red. 

That's all she saw as the thing's chest and abdomen burst open like a ripe fruit, red blackish blood spraying everywhere as its innards spilled out of its torn body. It slowed from a run to a stumbling trot, then went completely still, examining its mutilated torso like it just couldn't believe what had happened. The other orks slowed as well, caught off guard as what they had assumed to be easy prey had eviscerated their leader in one fell swoop. 

Sogen kicked the things knee, snapping it violently in half. The top heavy creature fell to the ground in front if him before he tapped the back of its head with a single finger poke. Haihane watched horrified as the ork's head bulged obscenely, then exploded apart with a deafening "BANG!", bits of brain and skull flying everywhere. 

"So freakin' cool!" Benitsubasa forgot her momentary frustration at being sidelined and instead clapped her hands in glee, memorized by the casual way in which their Ashikabi had dispatched the hulking foe. 

Haihane just felt sick. 

The headless corpse slowly fell to one side as gravity took hold before it toppled over. 

That seemed to be the signal for the rest of the group, as they all howled and charged at the still stationary Sogen. He didn't move though, fixing his eyes on her own, an unflinching gaze that seemed to say,

"This is what it means to stand with me." 

A half dozen weapons swung down on him, but still he held that look. Their bond was strange, full of the the reassurance he was trying to convey. But also something she recognized from some of her most tormented memories. 

Bloodlust.

That heady feeling was there and I was coming from her Ashikabi. It wasn't much, but it was unmistakable. Part of him was enjoying this. Just like part of her enjoyed watching. Just like part of her enjoyed it when....

She blinked, Sogen had disappeared while she was lost in her own thoughts. The orks seemed to be confused as well, poking around the ground with their weapons where he had just been. 

"Wow! What the hell is he doing up there?" Benitsubasa shielded her eyes from the sun, looking up far above the milling creatures' heads. 

Sogen floated far above ground. Well he wasn't really floating, as she watched he began to fall, only to seemingly magically be projected upwards, rising even higher into the air. She copied Benitsubasa and shielded her eyes, squinting to get a better look. 

The purple cat ghost raised it's hand into the air behind her Ashikabi and...snapped his fingers? 

"KABOOOOOOM!" 

Haihane was rocked and almost knocked off her feet from the massive explosion that engulfed the space below, the blast passing through her body and shaking her to her core. When she finally raised her head, the orks were gone, nothing left behind except a blackened stretch of land and a large crater that deformed the ground. 

"Woooohoooo!" Benitsubasa cheered as Sogen dropped from the sky like a rock, only to bounce up a bit right before he hit the ground and landed in a crouch. He looked around at the devastation had caused and his lips moved silently. After a moment, he made a beckoning gesture, indicating for them to approach.  

Benitsubasa raced out to greet him, moving at a speed so great that her feet cracked the ground as she went. Haihane loped behind, showing more reluctance as she made the trip, even if she knew she was much faster than the pinkette in running. 

Actually that was something else that was bothering her. 

She felt much, much, stronger than she had been yesterday. In fact, she could almost feel her core, her tama, buzzing with the sudden increase in potent energy. If she wanted to, she could of moved at a speed that would of passed Benitsubasa with ease. But she restrained herself, arriving just behind the shorter girl, who basically threw herself at their Ashikabi as soon as they arrived. 

"How the heck did you do that Monkey!" She screeched, glomping onto him and swinging him back and forth. "You were so cool! And that explosion!" She leaned in and whispered something to Sogen, who looked awkwardly back at her. 

"Um, that was Killer Queen, it can charge something it touches with explosive energy and then snap its fingers, detonating it. I had it touch the ground before I jumped. Then!" He snapped his fingers, reenacting the gruesome scene. 

"Oohhh you really know how to wind me up Monkey! Those freaks didn't even know what hit em' Do it again!" Even as Benitsubasa playfully begged, Sogen's eyes grew hard. Haihane noticed it and was prepared when his voice came out, sharp as a knife. 

"You're right Beni, they didn't know what hit them. Everything was fine and the next moment they were gone." He looked at her meaningfully, imploring her to take a lesson from that. To take this seriously. At least that is what Haihane thought he was trying to do. 

"They were weak though, if that was me I'd-" she shut her mouth with a click, when the Stand materialized behind her and lightly rested its hand on her shoulder. Despite believing that Sogen would never harm them intentionally, Haihane still shifted, unconsciously preparing to defend her friend. 

When she realized it she was beset with guilt. Not that she was really planning on attacking Sogen, the thought never crossed her mind, but shielding Benitsubasa with her body was something that she at least unconsciously considered. 

"You're right Benitsubasa, you are strong. Stronger than me by an insurmountable amount. But, strength isn't everything." He looked off into the distance and Haihane imagined he was somewhere far away in his mind. "I used to believe that I could do this by myself. Conquer my goals on my own power and defeat anything that stood in my way." Killer Queen de-materialized and Sogen sighed. "I learned that that is not how things truly are. I met with beings far stronger than me and I realized that I can't do this on my own." Haihane had a feeling that he was referencing Sekirei in general. Or was he speaking of someone in particular?

"But I saw you fight Karasuba, when you saved us! And she's super strong! All it takes is guts and fighting spirit!" Benitsubasa declared. Haihane held her tongue, she hadn't seen the second fight, but she had seen the aftermath of it. 

She quickly pushed the image of her nude senpai from her mind. 

Sogen shook his head. "The Black Sekirei could of killed me any time she wanted to. I only managed to survive and fight back because she was humoring me and I managed to surprise her." He turned his back to them and raised his shirt, showing his back. Despite having completely healed over, the scar from where the Black Sekirei's blade had sliced it open was still very visible. He held it up for a moment before letting it drop and turning back to them. "I should of died, if I wasn't such a freak of nature, I would of." 

"But you didn't." Haihane added her own voice to the conversation, "I asked you before why you came back for us and you said you did it for us, to wing us. But if you knew that you couldn't win, you should of ran! Why was it worth it to risk your life for m- for us! Why can't we make the same decision for ourselves!" 

Sogen looked like someone had smacked him upside the head, his mouth opening then closing but no words came forth. Eventually settling into a neutral expression. 

"Because I valued winging you more than I valued my life. Because I knew I could not win this without your help." He admitted, "Look I know I cannot always protect you, but if you ever feel you have to make a decision like that, I will not make myself any more a hypocrite and stop you. Just please! Do not throw you life away unnecessarily! Please be careful! I," He paused as the sound of rock shifting captured his attention. "Hmm, it seems I didn't get all of them." 

At the edge of the blast crater, an ork was working to clumsily extract itself from the recently created debris. It was heavily injured, missing a large part of its chest flesh and covered in scrapes and bruises. Their Ashikabi walked over to the struggling creature, pistol appearing in his hand. Without any hesitation, he pulled the trigger, blowing the beasts brain's out of its skull and ending its futile struggle. 

"Look, Benitsubasa, why don't you take point. Let's head towards the castle. They will of heard that, so we shouldn't have to waste time seeking them out." 

"Finally!" The Red Sekirei exclaimed while throwing her arms up in excitement. She sidled up to the man and nudged him in the side. "I get what you're saying Monkey-kun, I know this isn't a game. But remember, we will protect you, even if its from yourself!" 

"Mmmm."  

"And yeah, I'll let you and Q-tip help out." Sogen looked like he was going to say something smug, but she cut him off. "But only a little! Not gonna let ya'll steal my glory!" She slapped him on the butt and took off at a trot, heading towards the village. 

Sogen rubbed his backside where the overenthusiastic fighter had slapped him and mumbled something before turning to her. 

"Come on, if we don't keep up, she'll probably wipe the whole lot out." 

The two if them jogged behind Benitsubasa, who was cackling with glee as she no doubt was anticipating the battle to come. 

"Did you mean it when you said you valued us over your own life?" She asked as the two ran side by side. 

"I did.  Though it was more cynical than anything else, but hey, I am a selfish man and I couldn't stand the thought of someone else taking you from me." He said matter-of-factly. 

Haihane thought about that. A sekirei was supposed to protect their Ashikabi, bear their burdens and give their life for them if necessary. That was what MBI had said and that felt right to her. But what were they supposed to get in return? 

Love. Love was the thing that fueled their existence, that made them feel whole. And what more was an indicator of love than risking your life for someone? She looked at Sogen out of the corner of her eye and subtly probed their connection. He was carefully watching Benitsubasa's advance, eyes roaming the rooftops and side alleys for threats. The bond was full of concern and possessiveness. And love. 

She realized she didn't care that he needed her to kill. She didn't care if he enjoyed violence and wasn't always able to express himself well. She didn't care if he wanted to use her to accomplish his selfish desires. He was hers and she was his. 

"Sogen." He looked at her when she spoke his name. 

"Yeah, Hane-chan?" 

"I love you." She felt those wonderful feelings surge her way. 

"I love you too." 

Up ahead, a group of 15 or so of the hideous ork creatures turned the corner, coming onto the same street they were currently running down. Spotting her prey, Benitsubasa whooped and broke into a sprint, taking off like a rocket and barreling into the group like a orca smashing through a school of helpless seals. 

"Woohoo!" Benitsubasa leaped into the air and rotated like a top, decapitating two of her opponents by pulverizing their skulls into red mist with her feet. The orks roared and rushed her, but she bobbed and weaved, dodging their clumsy strikes with extreme ease. She lashed out with a fist, punching directly through the nearest creature's chest and blowing out its back. As it fell she turned to a nearby group of the pig like demi-humans and made a rude gesture. The big brutes howled in indignation and charged, but the Red Sekirei bashed her fist together, wisps of red energy flickering around her body and quickly increasing in intensity as they coalesced. Completely shrouded in the potent vibrant shroud, she let out a roar and smashed her fist into the ground. 

As if unable to contain the massive power, the earth exploded outwards, traveling in a line of rolling red colored explosions that burst from the ground with massive force. Dirt, orks and part of a stone building were shredded apart by the concussive blast and sent flying in all directions. 

That left six. 

The remaining brutes eyed each other, goading all of their fellows on while also trying to avoid being the next into the line of fire. Benitsubasa didn't wait, vanishing and reappearing behind two of the poor louts, she let more of that red energy manifest itself in her hand, but this time she imparted it directed into both of her foes backs, They slammed directly into the ground hard enough to pulp their thick skulls, but it was seconds later when the after affects of the energy attack manifested itself fully that they truly faced ruination. 

Like someone had took a weed eater to a block of deli ham, both the ork's bodies shredded into fine ribbons. Haihane imagined herself in the same position and her vision was suddenly tinged pink. She closed her eyes and shook her head. 

"Well I guess I worried for nothing." Sogen admitted, taking a seat on a nearby bench, more to himself than her. Feeling clingy, Haihane sat behind him him and draped her arms over his back. 

"Worried about what?" The pair of them watched as Benitsubasa ripped a wagon axle off an upturned cart and threw it like javelin. It took one of the remaining orks through its meaty thigh and it howled in agony, clutching at the impaling object with its giant hands. 

"I didn't know if she would have it in her to do what was necessary." He euphemistically stated. 

"If you mean killing, well Ashikabi-sama, Benitsubasa has always been hungry for battle." Haihane sighed, she would never say what she was about to say in front of the other sekirei, but it had to be said. "And she might not be the strongest or the most powerful of us, but she trains the hardest. More than anyone else. She would never falter when it came to something like this." 

Sogen seemed to take her words into consideration, frowning as he watched her rival cruelly spin the impaled bit of wood around, twisting off the screaming creature's leg like a cap off a bottle of water. 

"I'm surprised you would say that, Haihane. Actually, I think that is the first time I have ever heard you say anything nice about her." He commented dryly, still watching the massacre play out in real time. Haihane shifted her legs, squeezing her lower torso muscles as the pinkette obliterated the newly maimed ork's face with a spinning fist. 

"I wouldn't if it wasn't true. Regardless of how she might feel about me, I think of her as my friend." 

"Do you think she's not or something?" Sogen asked. Meanwhile, Benitsubasa threw a spinning kick that launched a green body into the wall with enough force to knock the entire structure down. 
She rounded on the last two, one of which charged and the other that ran away. 

"I do not know. I'd like to think so, but she doesn't really make it easy to tell." Sogen gripped her hand, but kept his head looking forward.

"She's the one that asked me to take you with us, back at the tower. I was going too anyways, but she certainly was upset when I joked about leaving you behind. So, I think she cares for you very much." Her Ashikabi winced when Benitsubasa finished the last active fighter off by a vicious front kick to the groin, so powerfully delivered that it's spine folded up like an accordion. The last ork had turned tail and fled, but she wasted no time in chasing it down and tackling it to the ground. 

Lighthearted laughter resonated through the village streets as petite hands held the creature by the back of the head, bashing its skull into the hard packed dirt. One strike, two strikes and on the third the thing's skull burst like a trod upon ketchup packet, creating a morbid painting of a beautiful red rose, complete with green stem, in the middle of the street. 

"I did not know that." Haihane spoke quietly, feeling warm on the inside as the pair of them waited for Benitsubasa to make her way back over to where they were sitting. 

"How's that for a "real fight" Ashikabi-kun?" The pinkette smirked and struck what she probably thought was a heroic pose. Coated in blood and viscera, Haihane thought she would of made a very convincing villain instead. 

Despite how villainous in appearance and deed her sister-wife might of appeared to be, she would never admit that the sight of such wanton slaughter had tickled something held deep inside of her, something she had always striven to keep hidden. 

"I saw it all, come here you." Sogen held his arms out, indicating that he wanted the gore covered sekirei to approach. When she made it close he captured her in his arms and swung her up onto his lap. Uncaring of the accompanying filth, he pushed an errant strand of hair that had escaped her daisy shaped clips. "You were magnificent Benitsubasa." He said. 

"I-I-I was? Wait, I mean, of course I was! It was so easy!" Beni-chan wiped some blood off of her face, trying to appear a little more presentable. Sogen chuckled. 

"Of course, they're less than half your level and probably have the intelligence of alligator snapping turtles, but yeah, good job." Sogen dryly stated, but he continued before she could express any indignation. "I meant when I was watching you. So savage, so graceful! I can tell you must of practiced your martial arts a lot." He looked over his shoulder to Haihane meaningfully. 

"Well yes, I practiced everyday! In fact..." Haihane patiently sat as Benitsubasa extolled her own virtues. Sometime during the spiel her Ashikabi reached behind him and took her hand in his own. Despite being stained with blood and rough, it was comforting. 

"Alright, so far so good, I have some notes but it'll keep till after." He twisted his torso, "You're up Hane-chan. I know you'll be fine, but I'm still rooting for you." Sogen nodded towards the far end, of the street which opened up into a large open square. A large group of about twenty or so greenskins had gathered and appeared to be arguing, though more than a few were beginning to form up into haphazard ranks. Weapons raised, they appeared to be roaring challenges towards them. "Knock em' dead." It might if been just her imagination, but she could of swore he put a lot more emphasis on that last word. 

The blue sekirei pulled her arms back from around Sogen's neck and stood. She fanned her fingers, testing the unfamiliar weight of the knuckle dusters. They should work well enough. 

'It is just another fight. Sogen is counting on me.' She took one step, then another. 

"Don't mess this up Q-tip." Benitsubasa winked at her, then snuggled closer up to their shared Ashikabi's chest. "Tell me more about how great I am." 

Haihane leaned forward and crouched, before exploding into a blazingly fast sprint. The row of houses passed her by in flash as she crossed the large distance between herself and her enemies. 

Enemies that would soon be very dead. Her heart began to pound in her ears as she felt her blood-lust rise to a dangerous level, no longer trying to restrain it. She knew that it would soon reach a tipping point, after which... Well her Ashikabi had asked it of her after all, even if he probably didn't realize what he exactly was invoking in her. Still his word was absolute. He wanted to see what she was capable of.

And she would not deny him. Not now. Not Ever.

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"So, that's her 'Beserker' state huh?" I checked the companion tab, seeing the status change, "She gets a pretty great boost in strength and DEX, but her constitution is pretty shit now." Indeed her HP had dropped along with her CON score. 

"I don't know about all of that, but yah, she's pretty scary when she gets like this." Beni-chan nuzzled my neck, apparently still basking in the afterglow of her last battle. 

'Well I suppose slaughter is more accurate of a description.' I hummed, watching as Haihane decimated the entire ork platoon. "Think you could beat her?" I nodded towards the slowly growing dust cloud that had appeared, courtesy of the town square being torn apart and all the nearby buildings being completely demolished as my usually calm and gentle sekirei flipped her lid. 

"Psh," Benitsubasa fingered the necklace I had just given her, "She might be stronger and faster like this, but she'll run out of steam soon enough. Plus, she becomes like, a complete bimbo!" 

'Man, if Benitsubasa is saying that....' By this time the dust cloud was billowing up into the sky. Something roared from within the opaque, swirling, and I was damn sure it wasn't any ork making that noise. "Are we gonna have to worry about friendly fire coming from Hane-chan when she's like this?" I petted Benitsubasa's hair, uncaring of the bloodstains that colored it more red than pink. 

"Nah, I don't think so. Like I said, she's not completely gone, just dumb. Usually Karasuba would beat some sense into her when she got like this, but that was more because that's just what she liked to do anyways." 

"I see, well then let's start heading over there. I can't imagine she'll be much longer." As I spoke, another roar, this time accompanied by the sound of a massive arc of electricity that crackled and lit the entire dust cloud with blue light.

"I guess." My little pink psycho replied noncommittally, obviously enjoying the pampering I was giving her. In response to her noncommittal words I stood up without warning, carrying the diminutive warrior woman up with me and into a bridal carry. This movement caused a surprised squawk and Benitsubasa grabbed me around the neck for support. "Jeeze, you stupid Monkey, you can't just toss me around like that! I'm a delicate lady ya' know?" Even she couldn't finish that thought without snorting through her nose in disbelief. 

"Well, obviously you're exhausted after your heroic battle my princess, do you have any other ideas for efficiently carrying you around?" 

Turns out she did. 

By the time we reached the square, the dust had already began to settle. We had taken our time, walking down the abandoned street at a relaxed and sedate pace. The sounds of "battle" had long since ended and the entire town was eerily quiet. 

"Maybe she got them all?" I wondered out loud. "Maybe thought wrong about there being more enemies on this level." Indeed, there were no more cries or any indication that any of the greenskin mobs had survived. 

"And I thought that horses couldn't talk!" I pinched the side of a pale thigh that was wrapped around my neck, causing my rude passenger to squeak. 

"You know if were going by smell right now, if anyone's a filthy barn animal, well, it wouldn't be me..." I looked upwards and Benitsubasa's upside down face glared at me. 

"Funny. You do know you are going to be scrubbing my back,  doing my hair and everything inbetween when we get back right?" The red eyed girl currently riding on top of my shoulders said with ultimate certainty. "You can try to run, but you will never escape your soapy fate! It's your fault I got like this anyways!" 

"Yeah, yeah, though it looks like we'll all be needing a bath." A wind had picked up, blowing the remaining dust completely away and revealing the epicenter of the carnage that had take place within. 

I whistled, taking in the whole scene. Craters, scorch marks, green skinned bodies in various states of completeness and an entire row of houses, reduced go nothing more than ashes and debris. I felt Benitsubasa shift left and right up top, no doubt looking for her fellow sekirei amid the carnage  

"Ah! Over there, by the fountain. Giddyup!" My sekirei tapped her thighs against my neck and I complied, moving over to where she had spotted her friend. 

Haihane had joined the fully soiled club, covered in head to toe in the foul blackish red blood of the orks. Her knuckle dusters were also covered in the stuff, though I noticed that the remaining spikes were dulled and most of them were just missing. My gray haired sekirei's head was lolled off to the side, as if she was looking at something only she could see. It was only when I hailed her, that she seemed to notice our approach. 

"Ah, Ashikabi-sama." Haihane rose to her knees and pulled the knuckle dusters off of her hands, holding them out for me to inspect them. "I deeply apologize, I broke your gift. Please forgive me, I was not in control." 

"It's fine Hane-chan, I know you can't control everything when you enter your Beserker mode, it's something we'll have to work on." I knelt and closed her hands around the brass knuckles, Benitsubasa slipping off my back as I did. "Hey, don't worry about any of that though, its fine." 

"You, you knew that I lost control?" Haihane stuttered and I felt shame through our bond where moments ago had been nothing but bloodthirsty joy. 

"Kind of hard not to." I tapped my chest, indicating that same shared perception, "Plus you know, it's one of your listed special abilities." Haihane took that as a request for an apology. Somehow. The gray headed girl dipped her head to the ground. 

"Please punish me!" She demanded, though I couldn't even begin to understand what I was supposed to be angry with her about. 

"How about no, now stand up. We have one more thing to do here, though from what I've seen here, you two should have absolutely no problem dealing with the big guy." I offered my hand to help her up, but she still had her head bowed. "Haihane, if you don't knock this off, I'm going to be pissed." 

That snapped her out of whatever self-pity induced guilt trip she was suffering from. 

"I'm sorry Ashikabi-sama!" She stated, quickly getting up to avoid my supposed ire. 

"Seriously, if's fine. You have nothing to be ashamed of and I don't care about some 30 dollar paperweights. What I care about is you. Are you alright?" I ran my fingers around her frame, checking for any injuries, but I found none. 

"No Ashikabi-sama, I am alright." 

"If alright means a total drama queen, I agree! Q-tip, you just had to try and show me up, eh?" Benitsubasa gestured to the absolutely ruined row of two stories houses that had been completely  obliterated by the Blue Sekirei's techniques. "I'm going to have to really let loose, next time, show you how it's actually done!" I noted the flat glare that Haihane shot at her over that, though it was halfhearted at best. 

"Well you might have chance to show off together sooner than you think." I gestured to the foreboding castle that sat in front of us. "Final boss is through that gate, I want you two to work together to defeat it." I sat on the lip of the fountain and crossed my legs. "The dungeon won't automatically end after the boss.dies, so why don't you have a race back here." If I remembered correctly it was quite a distance from the throne rooms where the "Ork Beserker" was and where we were now. 

Maybe I could work a little more energy out of the girls. 

"A race?" Haihane asked, still sounding a little somber, but quickly recovering as she discovered that yes, I really wasn't mad at her. 

"What does the winner get?" Benitsubasa crossed her arms and eyed me suspiciously. I held my chin in thought. 

"Hmmmm, how about..." After a moment of consideration, It came to me easily enough, what treat could tempt a sekirei? "How about a one on one massage, from me. You were asking for one earlier right?" 

"That's it? Psh." Benitsubasa waved it away, but her voice trembled slightly with excitement. Haihane licked her lips and looked at the Red Sekirei, as if judging her challenger. 

"Fully nude. Full service, full body, soap massage wit-" Halfway into my description, I realized I was no longer actually talking to anyone, the only sign left of the girls being a pair of dust trails that disappeared down the causeway and through the open gate beyond. 

I chuckled and settled in for a wait. 

"Huh, useful, I'll have to remember that one. Wonder what'd they do if I actually promised a date?"  

Chapter Text

We reappeared back in our apartment much in the same way as we had left. 

Just a lot filthier. 

"Tch, cheater." Benitsubasa said out the side of her mouth, crossing her arms in obvious displeasure at having come second in their impromptu foot race. Haihane on the other hand, was taking her victory with the grace and humility that truly befitted a champion. 

Plus I think she just enjoyed seeing Beni-chan stew. 

Whatever issue she had had with believing she had failed me in some way seemed to have been forgotten in the face of her promised reward. At least for now. Maybe winning, as small as it was, really had helped. 

I snickered. It was actually kind of fun to see them compete so fiercely over access to me. Flattering to boot. 

"Alright, first things first." I clapped my hands and gestured towards the open bathroom door, "Let's get cleaned up." 

Despite their current bickering, nobody could disagree with that. 

With our soiled clothes sprayed and in the wash, we entered the bathroom, myself in the front and the girls trailing behind. 

We were already nude, so there was no awkward yet stereotypical towel scenes or slow teasing. I sat on the ledge and turned on the faucet for the bathtub and then grabbed the hand shower. 

"Alright, who's first?" I patted the bench next to me, which was soon filled with two nude bodies, both jostling for position. I shook my head. "I'm just gonna go with who's filthiest." Which unsurprisingly turned out to be my little Fist type. 

I took my time, taking care of Benitsubasa's hair, washing away the dried blood and other unnameable substances. I applied shampoo and massaged it into her scalp, getting her nice and sudsy. Then came the conditioner and after that a quick scrub of her back.

Voila! One clean, mean alien death machine! One more to go!

After I was done with her I moved onto my next mission. Haihane had a lot more hair to wash than the pinkette, so it took a little longer to straighten it all out, but eventually I got it done. I let the girls handle the washing of the rest of their bodies while I cleaned myself. 

By the time we had all rinsed off, the soaking tub was almost full and steaming. 

"Anyone else feel like they wanna join?" I questioned, throwing my legs over the side and lowering myself info the near scalding bath. 

It wasn't long at all until I was joined by two lithe feminine forms. Silently, they slid into the tub as well. The water spilled over the top, but I didn't care, it was a "wet" room anyways, I was just glad the tub was over-sized enough to handle all this. As it was, I could only sit in it, too tall to properly lie down for a soak. However the girls had no such problems, being compact enough to actually lay side by side, one pert ass each laying on each of my thighs. It was a tight fit though and as they leaned back against my chest, I voiced that opinion. 

"Definitely going to have to get a bigger bathroom." I chuckled, stating the blatantly obvious. 

"Or you could just store the washboard out on the porch." Haihane mumbled, her limp body molding against my own as she luxuriated. "Let the rain take care of cleaning her." 

"Hmm, if I wasn't feeling so nice right now, I'd beat your butt even more black and blue for that...." Benitsubasa halfheartedly sniped back. "Mouse butt...." 

I snaked my arms around their incredibly fit bodies. 

"Now now girls, play nice." My hand rubbed along their amazingly trim and defined lower stomachs, that incredibly sexy patch of skin right between the top of a woman's crotch and the middle of her abdomen. "Tell me, how did your final fight go?" 

"Easy." Benitsubasa lamented.

"Benitsubasa defeated it by herself, but she got distracted..." 

"A queen like me should know what it is like to sit on a throne At least once...." Beni mumbled.

"Then what happened?" I asked curiously. 

"She cheated! That's what happened!" 

Haihane shook her head. "What Miss. Mosquito bites is trying to say is, once the boss was defeated, I began the race. It is not my fault if she wasn't paying attention." 

"No it's not." I stroked the white haired alien along her neck. "And to the victors goes the spoils." I leaned Haihane forward a a little and began to massage her shoulders. "After today, I can honestly say I am proud to be your Ashikabi. Thank you both for working hard." My big hands made easy work of spreading and kneading my Sekirei's muscles and soon she was relaxing under my tender affections.  

"Ugh, get a room, you two!" Jealousy came from Beni, but what else could you expect? What I didn't expect was the little bit of sexual arousal to come alongside that same jealousy. 

'Uh oh, Beni-hime, are you into being cucked?' I smiled evilly at the sudden discovery and trailed my big tongue along Haihane's spine. When I resumed my totally innocent massage, I noted the goosebumps that had appeared on the white haired girl's skin. "I do have some concerns though, from what I saw, but not many." 

"What? What did we supposedly do wrong!" Benitsubasa whirled on me, facing towards the two of us and spraying water all around. I ignored her ploy for attention and started "massaging" Haihane's chest instead. 

"Oh, nothing much, but I can tell that you guys never trained outside, probably in a gym or somewhere else with limited space." Haihane whimpered and squirmed in my lap as I gently teased her breast's pink caps. She leaned back and ground her hips against my own, the water churning as her "massage" increased in intensity. I nibbled at her ear lobe as she raked her slit back and forth over my fully inflated iron staff.

Benitsubasa tried her hardest to pretend like nothing untoward was going on. 

"Yeah now that I think about it I guess we did. But so what though! What difference does THAT make?" She asked, sliding to the side as I stood, taking Haihane up with me. Water dripped off of our aching bodies and I guided the Blue Sekirei's hands and placed them against the wall in front of the tub. Her leg, I balanced on the edge of the basin, lifting it up and giving me full access to her beautiful quim from below. My fingers played across those perfect lips, sliding along the inner and outer layers and garnering a moan from my white haired lover as the "completely indecent farce of a massage" continued. 

"It makes a lot of a difference actually." I felt Haihane's inside tense up as I slipped a finger inside her pussy, slowly raking my curled digit across the top of her love channel. "You fight like you're a human. That's limiting you." I tenderly kissed Haihane from behind and her wings actually appeared through my body, which was weird, but in the end they actually only tickled. Our bond began to build its normal feedback loop, the pleasure mounting. I added to the chain by slowly stroking my dick with my unoccupied hand. I was already at full mast but I figured doing so would just increase Haihane's over all pleasure. This was a reward after all. 

Plus I got to watch Benitsubasa's brain break in real time. 

'Neat!'

Truly I had expected, well anything after I made that last comment, but instead the pink haired beauty merely stared alluringly at my dick, mouth slightly open in what I assumed to be awe as I stroked it. All the while I continued finger Haihane. 

"So you agree with my observation then?" I decided to take the piss out of the distracted pinkette. 

"Wha?" Her eyes stayed down for a moment before shaking her head and looking me in the eyes. "Who's observation posting?" 

I laughed and pulled my finger out of Haihane's snatch. She gasped with the sudden withdrawal, but cooed with pleasure just the same when I spun her around to face me and squeezed her ass cheeks. Hooking an arm under each one of her thighs, I effortlessly lifted her up. "Hold on Hane-chan." I whispered and the sexy alien wrapped her powerful arms around my neck. I could feel the heat from her cunt radiating all over my cock as she slid back and forth over the shaft, but it was only when I used my finger tips to line myself up with her dripping entrance and push inside, that I felt that amazing psychic connection between us manifest in earnest. 

"I said, you fight like a human. Slow, staying mostly in one spot when you strike, not using the 3 dimensional battle space efficiently." I grunted as I slowly slid in and out of my sexy sekirei, her sheathe the perfect fit for my long-sword, as if it was forged specifically for that purpose. Every time I lifted her up and brought her back down, Haihane whimpered and I could feel what she was feeling, the feeling of fullness, the pleasurable pain of being filled and emptied out, over and over and over again. 

"Hey! Human's suck they can't, can't..." Benitsubasa apparently forgot what she was going to say again, staring at the place where Haihane and I were conjoined. I knew that, just as I could feel what she felt, while Haihane and Benitsubasa could feel what I was experiencing too. The incredible tightness of an alien sex writhing and contracting along the full length of my prick, the feeling of bottoming her out and kissing the tip of my dong against the hard opening of her cervix. Benitsubasa's hand reached out towards us, but stopped partway and returned to her side, perhaps unsure of exactly what she was feeling and what to do about it. 

I knew what Benitsubasa wanted. She wanted what her sister-wife was having. She wanted it so bad! But a part of her also liked to watch. To be denied. She loved seeing me dominate her friend. The bond told me these things and more. But there were other concepts and ideas that I had to interpret. 

Like that Benitsubasa liked Haihane, a lot. In fact I surmised she had quite the crush on the white haired girl. I watched her out of the corner of my eye, noting Benitsubasa's hungry gaze linger on the way Haihane's full tits swung up and down with every thrust I made. Maybe a girl crush indeed! Probably partly the source of the jealousy I still felt oozing from the pink haired sekirei's being and the sexual satisfaction she seemed derived from it. I knew that my sweet little cherry blossom had body based self esteem issues and perhaps that had manifested in a secret attraction to girls with more womanly, attributes?

I laughed. Poor Benitsubasa! The girl was completely confused! Our connection was just as busy in a reflection of that! She wanted me to fuck her, she hated Haihane for forcing her to share her Ashikabi, but she was glad she was here with her at the same time! I felt my white haired lover's pussy clench as she orgasm-ed, her mind going blank as pleasure overwhelmed any sense of rationality. Her wings sprung forth as it did. 

I grabbed Haihane's flushed face, her tongue drooping out the side like Benitsubasa's usually was, mind temporarily absent as the ahaego monster grabbed control. I kissed her sloppily, our tongues intertwining in and outside the goth sekirei's sweet, sweet mouth. 

"Human's are what Beni-chan?" I teased, rotating Haihane's limp body around, keeping her still impaled on my stiff cock as I did. Perks of being pretty much superhuman, made all kinds of weird and unique positions open up as possibilities while fucking. Even better when your lover had the strength to endure it. 

Haihane squeaked as I let her upper torso fall, catching herself against the tiled bathroom wall. "Coincidentally" I had dropped her so that her arms fell on either side of a stunned Benitsubasa's head. The two alien women looked at each other, faces mere inches away and I chuckled at the wide eyed expression on Beni's face. With a grunt, I sank myself back inside Haihane's furnace like depths, her legs dangling down, toes dipping into the roiling water as I reamed her for all I was worth. My sekirei moaned wordlessly and dropped her head on Benitsubasa's shoulder, her wet hair tickling the side of the fist type's neck. Haihane's legs scrabbled for purchase on the slick tub and eventually she found flat ground on the rim, legs placed on either side of her friend's body as she enjoyed the change in angle. I could feel her slowly rising tides, matching my own. I let go of one side of her hip, giving her ass a quick slap before leaning forward and running my rough palm up her back, following the smooth contours of her body and finally slipping around the side of her chest and grabbing a big handful of breast. I squeezed and Haihane rolled her head against the pinkette's shoulder.

desires breath hitched and I perceived her own carnal satisfaction flare. 

"Is watching good enough for you Beni-chan?" I let go of Haihane's tit and gazed deeply into her crimson gaze, the pink haired woman looking away with red tinged cheeks. "Do you like it when I give Haihane what she needs?" My voice was husky and full of innuendo. 

Almost imperceptibly, her chin dropped. I guffawed, putting my hand behind her slender neck and tracing the shape of her slightly parted lips with my thumb. Whatever release that was building up within her began to pick up pace and I noted her slick thighs subtly grinding against each other, back and forth.  I poked my thick thumb past her lips and she took it into her mouth, suckling it reverently, her tongue flicking across the callused end. "Good girl." 

I felt on the cusp and soon my loins overfloweth under the constant strain of both mental and physical assault. I gripped Haihane's wasp thin waist tightly, the rhythm between us reaching a crescendo as she struggled to throw herself back just as hard as I plowed forward. This time I came first, bucking wildly and shooting deep inside the beautiful alien's wondrous depths. She joined me immediately after, the mental aftershocks bringing her over the edge again. My hand dropped to Benitsubasa's neck and I squeezed without thinking, so caught up in this monumental moment that the limb seemed to possess a mind of its own. 

Benitsubasa gasped and her eyes rolled up in their sockets, both mine and Haihane's climaxes hitting her simultaneously as she bore witness vicariously to the grand finale of our frantic coupling! I felt her neck muscles tense and shake as she reached her own plateau, choking  slightly as my hand clamped down.

Realizing what I was doing, I quickly released my grip, but to my surprise she pushed her head back forward into my palm. Curious, I reapplied a little bit of pressure and she moaned in delight, her whole body convulsing under my steely grip, right in sync with Haihane, who was still bucking along with her own body's sexually induced fit. 

Seed spent, I withdrew from the Blue Sekirei's battered folds and sat on the lip of the tub, water sloshing around my legs. Deprived of my support, Haihane was forced to grab onto Benitsubasa to remain upright. She straightened, nuzzling her head against the smaller woman's neck. Finally after the brief period of weakness in her legs had passed, Haihane stepped back and stood up straight, still holding onto Benitsubasa's waist. Their slick bodies were pressed together, Haihane's full breasts resting on the pinkette's clavicle. I leaned to the side to get a better view and whistled at the erotic display. 

Haihane's eye's were still unfocused, yet lustful. Benitsubasa's were wide open, her lower lip trembling and her face spotted with heavy areas of red. 

"I think Beni-chan wants a kiss, Haihane." I coyly suggested, reaching over to the faucet and hosing off my lower body again. 

"Wha-!" Whatever weak protests Benitsubasa was coming up with were silenced when Haihane leaned her head down and kissed her fellow sekirei fully on the lips. "Mmmpff, mmmm, mmm." Beni gave in to her latent desires and soon the two extraterrestrial beauties were french kissing each other deeply. Watching them give in fully into their carnal sides, I briefly considered joining back in, but decided to let them be. 

"Make sure you drain the tub when you finish." I chuckled and stood, grabbing a towel off the nearby rack. Drying myself off, I exited the bathroom and closed the door, cutting off the Benitsubasa pitched whimpering coming from within. Hopefully they would work out whatever unresolved sexual tension that existed between the two.

I scrubbed the towel over my head until I reached my desire level of dampness, then tossed it into the washing machine. Uncaring of my nakedness, I strode into the living room and opened my dresser. 

'Who'd of guessed little Beni-chan swung both ways!' I entertained that idea for moment before I realized that I didn't even really know if that was true. Maybe it was just Haihane? I knew they were friends. Perhaps Benitsubasa wanted more than that? Or maybe she was just horny? I could tell from the bond that she got excited watching me with Hane-chan. Who knew? They could figure it out. 

It was a quarter past one, no time having passed since we had entered the dungeon and too much time spent in the bath. I thought back to the hot lovemaking session we had just shared.

'Ok, maybe that was unfair.' 

I slipped on some underwear and some comfy pants, then headed to the kitchen. 

'Benitsubasa upchucked her breakfast, so I'm  sure she'll be hungry.' I checked what we had on hand, perusing through the fridge and cabinets. 'Actually, they'd probably be hungry anyways.' 

The sound of the bathroom door opening and then closing announced the end of the great sapphic sekirei experiment. I watched as first Benitsubasa, then Haihane walked out. Both of their faces were ruddy and both were pointedly avoiding looking at each other. Without a word they moved to their respective clothing piles and began to dress themselves.

'Uh oh.' I turned back around before nonchalantly calling over my shoulder "Done already?" I whistled while checking the ricemaker to see if the contents were still good, thankfully they were. 'Maybe I can make a curry, gotta prep the veggies.' 

A small set of hands hugged at my waistband from behind and something wet and cold was placed against my back. 

I set down the carrot I was planning on peeling and turned myself around. 

Benitsubasa stared up at me with puppy dog eyes, her hair still wet and plastered to her forehead. She had dressed herself in a pair of flannel patterned pajamas and the thin material clung distractedly to her tight body, her nipples and breasts being especially prominently displayed. 

"Was it everything you thought it could be?" I joked, holding my sekirei and clasping my hands around her back. She rested her hands on my chest.

"She bites." She said in a whiny voice and I couldn't help but laugh. At least until I saw the massive red mark on the Red Sekirei's neck. 

"Holy shit." I moved the collar of her top and exposed what I appeared to be a hickey. A pretty nasty one too. I glanced at Haihane, who cheekily gave me what I could only describe as a "shit eating grin". I blinked and the look on her face was gone, replaced by her standard stoic expression. 'Did I just imagine that?' 

"And....and..." Her eyes, the same ones that haunted my dreams, so expressive, so cute, so lovely, so soulful, so....Benitsubasa. Those rose red orbs met my own. She whispered something, something soft and low that I only caught a portion of. But that portion was still enough to set my heart aflutter. 

"Wh-what was that?" 

"I said she's not you!" My first sekirei glared up at me defiantly, as if she was daring me to make fun of her. But once again, experiencing fully that special link between us, I felt myself grow weak as her powerful emotions threatened to sweep me away! "She's no-" 

I grabbed my Benitsubasa by the back of her wet head and kissed her. Nothing had felt more right to me than what I experienced in that moment. Bright pink light washed over us, like a camera's flash, memorializing that moment in my mind betwixt us for all eternity. We held each other for a while, but like all good things, it had to end. By my own goofy hand.

I couldn't help it. 

"She does have nice tit's though amirite?" I mumbled into Beni's mouth and she stomped her foot in exasperation and rolled her eyes. But seconds later she smirked and leaned in conspiratorially, balancing on her tiptoes she breathed in my ear.

"The best." 

Chapter Text

Let's Play: Sekirei

Chapter IIX

An hour so later had me on top of Haihane again. 

But this time it truly was innocent! I swear! 

"You're so tense Hane-chan, did Benitsubasa really get to you?" I leaned forward and used my elbow to draw circles on the pale girl's back. I worked diligently, targeting any knots I could feel. It was funny though, I doubted if I was any weaker, I would even be able to work with the alien's steel like muscles. Actually, the amount of force I was extruding right now, probably would be able to snap a piece of treated wooden four by four in half. 

Working out the knots indeed. 

Haihane shrugged in response to my question, perfectly content to "suffer" in silence. I could tell she was enjoying her reward fully, maybe even taking a little bit of advantage of the situation. But what was I to do? Not give a lotion massage the hot naked alien babe? Well not completely naked, Haihane had decided to keep her panties on. But still...

I took my promises very seriously after all.

"Ohhh! I-I think I pulled or sprained a bone or something, ya know, back when I fought that big evil strong monster!" Benitsubasa, rotating her arm in an exaggerated manner, spoke up from her spot on the couch, an area that she had quickly claimed as her own for general brooding purposes.  "It hurts so bad! Why me! All-all because my selfish Ashikabi sent me to do his dirty work! Someone should take responsibility!" 

"Ice packs are in the fridge." I cheerily informed her, kneading Haihane's left asscheek. It seemed to need a lot of attention! "Help yourself!"

"Pah!" The pink headed girl sagged, defeated for now. 

"How about you watch some TV, while we wait for the food to be done?" I glanced at the stove, the curry hadn't boiled over yet, but I had to get the timing for the potatoes right. I moved my hands up to Haihane's lower back, working the complicated group of muscles located there. 

Haihane purred. 

"Really?" I remarked, massaging the same area and receiving the same deep throated growling. 'Are sekirei part cat or something?'

"But I don't know how the TeeVee works! All these buttons look too complicated!" 

"Beni, you sound like my Grandma right now." I rolled my eyes, "Toss me the remote and I'll do it for you."

"Which one?" Haihane mumbled into the mattress, referring to whether I meant this life's or the last.  

"Take your pick I suppose, though my old Grandma was a lot more, uh, folksy, than the one I have now." I actually hadn't seen Grandma Susumu in years, but she had been a kind woman. She lived in an assisted care facility in Nagano now and didn't do well with visitors. My Mom still made the trip to see her regularly, but she had been declining mentally for years. 

"Folksy?"

"Oh yeah, Grandma B was a country as they came, she used to chew tobacco and eat all kinds of weird things. My Grandma now, well, she's sick, so she doesn't get to visit us anymore."

"Why not? Family is supposed to love each other right? What about your other Grandparents?" Haihane turned her head to the side

"Well yeah, we do but she needs special care, so she can't just leave where she lives and Dad's grandfather passed away before I was born." I explained, "And Mom's family. It's complicated."

Haihane waited patiently. I sighed.

"I don't think they took her marrying my Dad very well." 

"Oh, I see." She wiggled and I moved off of her so she could sit up. "Your grandfather died? Was he killed in a fight or something?" Haihane questioned as I leaned back and snatched the remote that had been launched at my face. 

"No, my grandfather died of heart attack before I was born." I turned the TV on and switched the channel to a kids show, before lobbing the remote back the way it came. 

"A heart attacked him?!" Haihane asked with wide eyes. 

"Haha, no. It mean's he got sick and his heart stopped working properly." Haihane held her hand over her breast, a worried look on her face.

"That's scary." 

I nodded my head. "Yeah it is."

"Can, can that happen to sekirei?" Haihane's breath hitched. I held her hand loosely, thinking about everything I knew about her species. Which admittedly wasn't lot. I didn't think I ever saw a sekirei sick, other than Homura or that ice type, but those were special cases. 

"I don't know." I told her honestly, shaking my head. But then again, was she actually still a sekirei? Her and Benitsubasa undoubtedly became something else entirely when they bonded to me, their bodies becoming more like mine. And I had never been sick. 

in the background the sound of a cartoony explosion followed by Beni's joyous cackle gave some relief to the tense situation. 

"I'm sorry that your Grandfather died." Haihane expressed sorrowfully and I shrugged. 

"It's okay, like I said, I never met him." 

"I would like to meet your parents. Your mom sounded nice." 

"You will, like I said, I'll introduce you all to her and my sister. I'm sure they'll like you." Of course them managing to wrap their heads around the whole thing was something else. 'Oh, hey Mom, meet your new stepdaughters! Yes, I'm a bigamist. Did I mention they're aliens?' 

Yeah, that was going to be fun. 

"Is your Father a nice person too?" Haihane wondered innocently and I felt my heart clench. She obviously didn't know what she was asking. Didn't know what affect it might have on me. 

"He's was." I ground out, not wanting to venture into that painful area of discussion too deeply.

"Was?" Recognition appeared on her face and she held a hand to her mouth. "I am sorry Ashikabi-sama! I didn't know." 

"It's fine." I snapped. I knew I shouldn't short with her, but even years after he had died, it still hurt to think about it, my guilt lived on. Especially since one of my primary motivating drives was murdering the bastard who caused it! That certainly kept it fresh.

"Did his," she paused, uncertainty quite clear as she struggled to figure out what to say, "heart attack him too?" 

"No, he was killed by a sekirei." 

"What!?" Benitsubasa exclaimed, having belatedly joined the conversation, hanging over the back of the couch. 

"Is that the special person that you said the Professor took from you?" I was once again reminded of how perceptive the Blue Sekirei could be. 

"Stupid Q-tip, he said a sekirei did it! The Professor is human!" 

I held up my hand to silence the pink haired girl. 

"No, Haihane is right, my father was killed by a sekirei under orders from Hiroto Minaka." I sighed, well that cat was out of the bag. I could feel the girls emotions, confusion, anger and most importantly shame. 

"What was her number? I'll murder her!" Benitsubasa leaped over the couch and landed on her feet. I shook my head. 

"I don't know. I wasn't there. He was a soldier for the government and died during the attempted invasion of Kamikura. I was only a kid at the time, so I didn't get the details." 

"It must be one of the old hag's then!" Benitsubasa adopted a thoughtful expression, "Well we'll just have crush em' all! Just to be sure!" She smiled at me, happy that she had come to a satisfactory solution. 

"No. See, this is why I didn't want to tell you the details." I shook my head but I noticed that Haihane had a hurt look on her face.

"Huh? Why not? As your sekirei it's our job to clobber your enemies, right? Of course we need to know who they are to do that." Benitsubasa declared, as if it was just as simple as all that.

"Ashikabi-sama, you don't hate sekirei do you?" Again, Haihane sniffed out the other reason I had been withholding information. I didn't try to explain it, instead taking the direct approach. 

"What do you think Haihane?" I smiled with some difficulty, but more importantly pushed my feelings to her. My anger and sadness, but more importantly my magnanimous feelings of affections and love for the both of them. 

"I see, I am sorry, I assumed the worst." The white haired sekirei drooped her head. 

"It's fine Hane-chan. Look, I don't really blame the sekirei for what they did," That was a white lie, I did blame them, whoever they turned out to be, "I blame Minaka-teme. That's why I have to win this. I don't think I can get to him now, not with those freaks on his side, but when we win this game, I just know that'll be the time to strike!" I growled.

"I don't like it when you're sad." Haihane consoled me. "I want to help you be happy. To be free of all this." She didn't say what exactly she meant, but I got the general idea.

"I know you do Haihane, but it seems as though my life was set on this path for a reason. We all must shoulder the burdens we are given." Though I had no idea what that reason could be. R.O.B.'s motivations were a slippery bitch to pin down. "I'm just so grateful I'm lucky to have you and Benitsubasa with me." I squeezed her hand. 

"Darn right you are! We're gonna win all this easy and then we're gonna be together forever and ever!" Her eyes sparkled like the stars her kind had traversed and I smiled. It was hard not to. Whatever faults my problematic sekirei might if possessed, her surplus fighting spirit was not one of them. 

It was infectious actually. 

A beeping noise emanated from the kitchen and I stood, helping Haihane to her feet as well. "Go ahead and get dressed, the foods ready." I eyed her nude torso, "As much I appreciate the view, I've seen Benitsubasa eat and you might have to shower again."

"Hey!" 

Yup, lucky indeed. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

I plopped the girls down in front of the TV and put on an old science fiction movie. I made sure the Japanese captions were on, so at least they might get something out of it. 

"Alright, I have some stuff to do, but if you get hungry, there's snacks in the cabinet." I received a suspicious glare from Benitsubasa in return. 

"You're not going to leave us here alone are you?" I held up my hands defensively. 

"No, I just have to talk to my landlord, tell him we're going to be moving out soon. Won't even leave the building!" 

"Well hurry up! My feet are killing me and I need Monkey hands!" 

'Oh jeeze.' It was obvious that Benitsubasa was still holding a grudge for not receiving a massage like Haihane had gotten. 

The iconic theme music started and I quietly exited. Once outside, I breathed a sigh of relief. Despite the love I had for the girls, it was still a big change, having them in my life. Thankfully my two times in the military had acclimated me to the idea of cohabitation, otherwise this situation might if been even worse. 'And I'm thinking of going after more! Ha!" I suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for the MC of the original series. 

Still didn't know what I was going to do with him. My mind had changed, I didn't think that I needed Musubi to do her thing and take out Karasuba. With the ability of my "flock" to level up, I didn't see her as much of a unbeatable threat as before. 

"Didn't think I'd be saying that anytime soon." I murmured approaching Mr. Nakade's apartment. It was true though, new threats had overtaken the Black Sekirei in level of importance. Those "Specials" and Miya. 'Plus who knows what other mad scientist shit M.B.I. has been up to.' 

At least life wouldn't be boring.

'Wonder what I'm gonna be doing after all of this?' I thought, not for the first time, as I knocked on my landlord's door. 'Actually, I wonder what the hell happened to Karasuba?' Was she still with M.B.I.?  What happened to a sekirei that reacted and didn't complete the contract? Terminal blue balls? Switch gender and explode?

Was she winged to Natsuo?

Somehow I doubted it, but the thought still agitated my possessive side. 

'Well wherever she is, as long as she's not my problem, I don't care.' 

The old man that answered the door was dressed in a pair of gray slacks and a collared shirt, much like the last time I had seen him. I bowed. 

"Hello Nakade-san, I am sorry for taking your time, but do you have a minute? Something has come up." The older gentleman looked concerned but returned the gesture. 

"Ah, Nobe-san, what happened?" He gestured for me to enter and I obliged before bringing up the topic at hand. 

"Well, I apologize for the inconvenience, but I've met a girl and...."

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

A half an hour later, I was back at the door to my apartment. The conversation had gone well, my explanation on needing a larger apartment and all. Nakade-san had congratulated me on starting a family and helpfully waived the early termination fee, granted I pay for the next months rent upfront. After that we had just chatted, though I purposely left the details of "my new girl" nebulous at best. 

"I'm back!" I announced, but no one answered. I ditched my shoes and went inside. "Ah." I turned back almost forgetting to close the door. I reached back to do so, but jumped as I felt something brush against my back, like a gentle breeze or the lightest of touches. I turned and searched, but nothing was there. 

"Weird." I muttered, scratching my head then shrugging my shoulders. 'Must of been a draft.'

When I made my way further into the room, I found why nobody had responded to my salutations. 

Apparently the movie had been a hit since it had both Haihane and Benitsubasa seemingly hypnotized, their eyes glued to the screen. Empty snack bags and soda cans were strewn on and around the couch. They didn't even look up when I entered. 

"Really?" I gestured around at the messy state of things, "I was gone for like half an hour!" 

 "Shhh! It's getting to the good part!" Benitsubasa rudely ignored my complaints before filling her mouth with a spoon full of....

"Are you eating wasabi?!" I exclaimed, my stomach rolling with just the thought of that. Beni froze with the spoonful of white horseradish paste halfway into her mouth.

"If that is what it is, then yes. Do you have a problem with that?" I gagged as she completed the motion, pulling the newly cleaned spoon out if her maw and smacking her lips. 

"That...not really...food..." My eyes wandered in a closer inspection of the empty foodstuffs, finally falling on a half empty tin of miso paste that was poorly hidden on the couch behind Haihane's foot. "Haihane!" 

"Yes, Ashikabi-sama?" She demurely replied, trying and failing to hide something behind her back. 

"Ugh never mind, does that actually taste good to you?" 

"Yes." She shrugged, licking a bit of the extremely salty bean paste that had been stuck to the side of her mouth. I threw my hands up.

"I give up." Far be it from me to try and understand the alien mind. I walked away from the gluttonous, yet apparently taste dead, duo and sat at the dining room table. 

"If it's not food, then why is it in the fridge huh? Ahh! We missed the best part! Q-tip bring it back!" 

"Freakin' aliens." I mumbled under my breath, summoning my laptop from my inventory. I logged in and checked my emails. Nothing of note. Then with bated breath I opened the encrypted messaging app that I sent Matsu a link for. 

There were two users listed! 

I pumped my fist, feeling elated. My crazy plan had finally worked and I now had a direct line to Sekirei-02! I felt a surge of giddy adrenaline pass through my body. 

"I love it when a keikaku comes together!" 

"Shhhhh!" 

I made a rude gesture and rested my hand on the laptop's keys. 

'Now...what do I say?' I was temporarily at a loss. It was obvious from Matsu's last message that she didn't trust me. What could I say to put her mind at ease? 

My fingers tapped lightly on the keyboard, ghosting over various possible messages. The icon showed that she wasn't currently online. I noted that her chosen username was "MissRed". 

Which was useless. 

'What do I know about Matsu?' I searched my memories for anything that might prove to be useful. 'She's an otaku, perpetually online, massive pervert, paranoid, a shut in, maybe a little idealistic, petty...hmm." 

After much contemplation I typed my awesome opening line and pressed enter. 

Behold! My awesome nonexistent charisma score come to life!  

"sexyfboi28: sup" 

"God, I'm so fucking lame." I bonked my forehead against the table.

"Yeah, you are." I jumped as pungent wasabi breath invaded my personal space. I waved my hand in front of my face as I coughed at the sudden stinky intrusion. 

"Do you mind? Weren't you watching the movie? Ugh." Benitsubasa sighed and leaned over my shoulder. 

"I was, but you're here now. Plus, we watched the ending first anyways, so bleh, what's the point? Whatcha doing?" 

I didn't know how to explain to someone how they were watching movies wrong so I didn't. 

"I'm trying to talk to Matsu, but I don't know how to open her up." I briefly thought on asking the alien for advice on gaining the trust of one of her peers, but then I remembered who exactly I was talking to.

"The nerd? How boring! I bet she can't even fight!" Benitsubasa turned away and dove back onto the couch, rotating herself so she was upside down, her legs dangling over the rear of the couch. 

"You know Beni-chan, fighting's not everything you know." I turned and started to explain, but she preempted my lecture before it even began. 

"Like I said, boring! Jeeze, you sound like my old adjuster! Hey Haihane, put the funny channel back on, I want to laugh at the rabbit!" The sound of an old timey cartoon theme began and I shook my fist impotently at the utter lack of respect. 

"You'd better drink a whole bottle of mouthwash if you expect me to ever kiss you again!" I threatened, but the pinkette ignored my idle threat completely. "Whatever." I grumbled under my breath and turned back to the problem at hand. 

"New Message!" I read the message toast at the top of the screen and excitedly read the contents. 

"MissRed: kys fedboi" 

'Well, shit.'

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Get good scrubs!" Matsu gloated as she redeemed her carefully accumulated perk points and prepared to fire, "NUKE INCOMING!" 

Half the game map was enveloped in a mini-nuclear holocaust and the kill notifications steadily stacked up on the corner of her H.U.D. as the explosion wipes out the other team. 

"Multi-kill!"
"Killing Spree!"
"Killtacular!" 
"Killopolcalypse!" 

"TERRORISTS WIN!" The message flashed as the enemy team ran out of tickets, signaling the end of the match. Immediately she was booted back to the lobby, noting with pride her 32-0 kill to death ratio. 

'Super reflexes ftw!' 

"Fucking spamming bitch!" 
"Cheap ass bullshit!" 
"Man, fuck you!" 

The lobby was filled with griping, as the teams were rebalanced in preparation for the next match.

"Nah, nah, noobs, maybe next time don't camp around the objective! Baka!" Matsu leaned back in her computer chair, attention split between the after match highlight reel and the hardcore hentai video playing on the adjacent monitor. 

"Holy shit, you're an actual girl?" 
"Nah, man, that's a trap!" 
"Fucking annoying bitch, if I ever find you I'll..." 

"Annnnnd mute." The brain type silenced the voice chat, still riding high from her flawless victory. She stretched her arms up above her head, her massive tits rising slightly up then back down with a bounce. She adjusted her silk cheongsam from where it had bunched up under her ponderous udders, relishing the feel of the silky material in her hand. 

'If only I could win in real life too. That'd be nice.' She forlornly thought, idly tweaking her nipple while half paying attention to the tentacle rape playing out the screen. 'Ahh, forget it.' 

The "Sekirei of Wisdom" paused the video and sagged back into her chair with a huff. "What's the point, She had been so excited yesterday when that "Nobe Sogen" had messaged her. She had dared to believe in destiny. 

Maybe a little.

She still thought that he was probably a M.B.I. plant, or possibly a foreign government actor. 

But what if he wasn't? 

'Well doesn't matter now.' The ginger bombshell blew a stray bang that had come to rest in front of her glasses. 'Jerk ghosted me.' 

Indeed it was true. The peer to peer encrypted chat that the man had invited her to had remained inactive since he had sent her the initial link. She looked at the image she had saved (and vigorously masturbated to) of the man who purported to 'know who she truly was'.

"Was I seriously that excited to be catfished this badly?" Matsu groaned, closing the picture out then exiting the pre-match lobby and quitting the game. "Kami, I'm pathetic." 

She didn't feel like playing anymore. 

Usually the games were useful, the more realistic and gorier the better. Matsu played almost exclusively Military shooters. 

Why? 

Just as she had originally filled her mind with porn and useless information to distract herself from the horrors she had witnessed so long ago, she had found that a similar effect could come from experiencing something similar to what she was trying to forget. The real and the false memories would become one and lose any distinction, to the point where she couldn't tell which was which. It helped. 

Thankfully she had also discovered that her photographic memory had limits, old memories that weren't a priority would eventually be discarded. Playing the games helped. 

Plus it was fun. 

Fun was something she was definitely lacking nowadays. 

She was too busy dealing with a domicile in turmoil! 

The inn had been in an uproar since, well since last night. And by uproar, she meant that she was in an uproar. Miya didn't care what was going on around her, as long as everyone followed her "rules". Miss "Three Sheets Blowing into the Wind" was missing in action as always. 

And little Uzume, well not-so-little-anymore Uzume, was in the middle of this little shitstorm. 

She had come home in the middle of the night and engaged with a hushed conversation with the matron of the inn. Wherever that conversation had been about, she didn't know, but when the brown haired girl had come to visit her later, Matsu had immediately noticed a change. 

She stood straighter, smiled easier and seemed to just glow with a brilliant inner peace. She had barely bounced through the attic door and Matsu already knew what she wanted to tell her. 

"Congratulations Uzume-chan, what's his name?" 

It was painfully obvious that her once adorable little kouhai had been winged. She had reacted to someone, a girl not a man Uzume had helpfully corrected, and after a little adventure, she had made her her Ashikabi. Despite Matsu telling her friend about how happy for her she was, ashamedly, something nasty had reared its ugly head deep inside. 

'I guess that explained where she has been getting off to all the time. But seriously, a hospital?' Matsu shook her head. Who'd have thought it? 

Apparently Uzume's new Ashikabi was a sickly thing. Very much so to the point that she never actually left the hospital. Confined to a bed or wheel chair, it was only happenstance that the two of them had ever met to begin with. 

As Uzume told it, she had been going out and just, 'wandering' around. It was during the course of one of these aimless jaunts that curiosity had led her to a hospital. Not knowing what the building was exactly for, but finding it full of exciting activity, she had investigated, moving through the rooms and hallways until, as if by fate she had stumbled into her future Ashikabi's room. 

"I knew it as soon as I saw her Senpai, I knew she was special! Just one look!" Uzume had dreamily told her all about it, about her 'darling Chiho' and how they had met. "She thought I was a cosplayer, entertaining the children in the hospital! Can you imagine that!" Uzume had laughed at the memory. "She liked my outfit so much, she asked if I had any more! I so wanted to see her again, so much that I did the only thing I could! I bought some more costumes and told her I would model them for her! Just as an excuse to see her obviously. And then one thing led to another and well!" She had shown Matsu a picture of her Ashikabi, a blonde short haired young girl with prominent sunken cheeks and a sallow complexion. 

"She looks nice." Was all Matsu could think of to say. 

She had listened to her oldest friend gush about the plain faced girl for what seemed like hours before she politely informed the other woman that she was tired and was ready to go to bed. 

"Oh okay, Matsu-senpai!" Seeming to sense something was off, the brown haired girl had paused at the door, "I know you're feeling left out, sad that you haven't met your destined one yet, but I know that you will! Fate will have it no other way! You just have to give it a chance." 

After she had left, Matsu had taken a moment to compose her thoughts. She knew she was jealous of the younger sekirei, that's what this was about. It was small of her, petty even. 

She really was happy for her friend!

But she had been waiting for so many years! Who could blame her for being upset when she watched her junior find the happiness denied to her for so long! 

And through random chance! 

She felt like crying. Her biological clock ticked on. 

'Random chance, huh?' She stared at the empty chat room, still devoid of activity. " Fate, what good is it? When you deny yourself every oppurtunity and all you have left is the certainty of your own misery." 

If only she had the courage to go out there and look, maybe she would find her destined one! Instead of relying on the word of some internet stalker to at least feel wanted. 

But she didn't. She was terrified of what would happen to her if the company caught her. Plus she had something more important than herself to consider. 

"Ping!" Her headset sounded a notification in her ear and she swiveled her chair around. "Huh?" 

She adjusted her glasses and reread the incoming message. 

"sup?" Matsu quoted before cocking her head to the side, "Are you serious?" She muttered to herself. "Well 'sexyfboi28', way to kill the mood before it even began." She rolled her eyes at the lame opener, but inside she was giddy with excitement! 

Even if he was just some government spook playing a part, at least this was serving as SOMETHING new in an otherwise stagnant life! 

Speaking of glowing ones, Matsu quickly typed a suitably shitlordy reply. 

"MissRed: kys fedboi" Message sent, she leaned forward, fingers still om the keys as if that would make him respond any faster. 

"sexyfboi28: did you like my drawing?" 

"Hmm, he didn't deny it...." Matsu's glasses shined as she considered what that meant. 

She typed her reply. 

"MissRed: lmao garbage, tits weren't nearly big enough, try harder next time." 

Typing, typing, the chat program indicated was writing something. 

"Ping!" 

"sexyfboi28: nah, make them any bigger and it'll just be kazehana btw, is she there?

'He knows about Number-03 and the inn?!' MBI insider began to look more and more likely, their security wasn't nearly bad enough to leak that much to a foreign actor. 'But is he acting under orders?'

"MissRed: apologies, I dunno who're you talking about???" 

"sexyfboi28: well when you see her, tell her I want my money clip back, it was my dad's..." 

"What?" Matsu stated dumbly. "You actually know each other, no way!" She twirled her thick copper colored braid in her hands, before typing her next message. 'Let's get straight to the point Sogen-kun.'

"MissRed: wut do you want?" The typing indicator was only up for a few seconds before the next message came through, whatever it was, he didn't even have to think about it. 

"sexyfboi28: I want you." 

Matsu gasped and held her head between her hands as she slouched in her chair. She felt dizzy. Disoriented. 

"sexyfboi28: I need you." 

She felt like she had drank an entire carton of energy drinks and then went on a mile sprint! 

"No, that's not, uhhhhoooo." The Sekirei of Wisdom removed her glasses and pretended to polish them. 

"sexyfboi28: I will have you, you are mine matsu." 

A shiver ran down her spine. She could almost see those blue eyes simmering as he said that. She reopened the picture and stares into those icy spheres. Finally she managed to calm herself down enough to form a cognizant response. 

"MissRed: how can I trust you tho? you offer me what I want but then I find out you work for MBI? Smh, r u serious?"

"sexyfboi28: worked, I was fired yesterday, or more like quit." 

"MissRed: news to me, why were you fired?" Matsu quickly sent out technopathic feelers, looking for evidence to back up his story. Teito Tower's main systems were not accessible to her, however when she wormed her way into the public facing employ credential database she found that the Security Access token for "Nobe Sogen" had been revoked. 'Well that's certainly interesting.' 

"sexyfboi28: well, I winged two sekirei without authorization and then blew up karasuba. that probably had something to do with it *shrug*." 

She had seen the news reports doing the rounds yesterday, "Mysterious Explosion at Teito Tower" "Terrorist Attack at MBI Headquarters?" But now this guy was saying he had something to do with it? 

"MissRed: o rlly? and why would I believe u?" 

"sexyfboi28: don't you have access to CCTV inside TT?" 

"MissRed: no..."

"sexyfboi28: lmfao the great matsu, stopped by a measly firewall?"

She sent him 'flipthebird.gif' and an explanation. "Air gapped." 

"sexyfboi28: I see... look up cctv feed at the blue dolphin hotel, off the blue line and 43rd ave at 1030 this morning" Matsu did the longest time spent in doing so actually scrubbing through the video. 

It wasn't the best quality, but at 1033, somebody who appeared to be 'Nobe Sogen' exited the front of the building, his arms wrapped around two figures, much shorter and undoubtedly female. Grey and pink hair? They were wearing black outfits of some kind, though she really couldn't make any details, not even when she raised her glasses to try and get a better look. 

"MissRed: wut does that prove? u stayed at a hooker hotel and felt charitable the morning after? how about u try again, 'nobe sogen'?" 

Matsu crossed her arms over her full bosom. There she had said it, he now knew that she knew his identity. The typing indicator stayed still for a long time and part of her was relieved. 

'So he was a fraud after all.' But part of her was strangely crushed. Had she put her hope in this man? Someone she didn't even really know? 'Idiot.' She chastised herself, but before she could go any further another message appeared. 

"sexyfboi28: what do I have to do to get you to trust me?" 

Matsu debated leaving the conversation right then and there. 

'Really? Are you even trying?' She reached for the exit button, but something stayed her hand. 

An instinct? 

Uzume's words came unbidden to her mind

"You just have to give it a chance." 

She slowly began to type.

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"sexyfboi28: what do I have to do to get you to trust me?"

I wiped a hand against the back of my neck, a nervous sweat having broken out. The conversation with Matsu had not gone nearly as well as I planned, or even hoped. In fact, she seemed downright uninterested in me. 

I thought that taking the direct path had been the correct path forward, but it seemed that she was unaffected by my bluntness, still not trusting me. 

I would be lying if I said it didn't hurt a little. The worst part was there wasn't really anything I could do. If she cut ties, that was it. 

So I had asked what I could do? Immediately I had regretted sending that, it came off as desperate. 

"MissRed: I dunno if you can...." 

I wracked my mind. She didn't believe the camera footage, what else was there that I could do? 

'Oh, duh.'

I clicked the video chat request button and took the tape off my webcam.  

'Come on Matsu, I know you're curious.' I mentally implored. Quickly I smoothed down my post-shower hair, taming it into a somewhat presentable mess. It had grown long since I had left the service and had a tendency to "poof" out if left un-mananged. "Come on." 

The video chat dialog box opened, but her side was blank, a black screen. Mine however, the little popup with my face stuck in the corner, showed me that it was working. 

An awkward silence followed. 

"Hello?" I tried, making sure that we were in fact actually connected. 'Am I muted?' 

"You know, you looked better in the picture." A lightly gravelly voice, not as husky as Kazehana's, not as scratchy as Haihane's and not nearly as high pitched as Benitsubasa's was projected through my computer's speakers. It was still beautiful though. Music to my ears. 

She had given me a chance! 

"Must be the lighting in here." I apologized, working hard to keep a manic grin off my face. I was emotional and despite my best efforts it showed in my voice. 

"Must be." 

Another pregnant pause.

"So-" "So-" we spoke at the same time and I quickly held up my hand to show my deference. 

"No, no, go ahead Matsu. What I had to say was stupid anyways." It really was, I would of never asked anyone else such an inane and inappropriate question if I was trying to persuade them. But this was Sekirei-02. If she was the same as my recollection, then it might be the right thing. 

"Ok, well then maybe I want to hear it?" I heard a sound like a door opening in the background and a chair swiveling. 

"Senpai, Asama-sama says the food is ready and you are not allowed to eat in your room again." The voice was another young woman's, but it was quiet as though she was far away from the microphone. Speaking of which, immediately the audio feed on Matsu's end was muted. 

'That must be Uzume or whatever, Asama-san though? I guess that is Miya's surname." I felt myself shake slightly at the thought of being in contact, even indirectly with Sekirei-01. In terms of strength, she probably would made Karasuba look like a mewling kitten!

I waited patiently. A minute more passed before Matsu's voice returned. 

"Sorry about that, roommates, you know?'

"I sympathize, I recently picked up two and they are quite the handful." I chuckled and the person on the other end snorted. 

"Yes, your supposed conquests, stolen from M.B.I. you said? That seems implausible. I know their security inside and out and they would never let an identified Ashikabi candidate alone with an unwinged unit." She smugly informed me. I actually felt a little offended by that. 

"So you think I'm lying?" I asked, perhaps a bit more edge in my voice than I wanted there to be.

"Oh no, random person I met on the internet, of course I believe everything you say!" She sarcastically said. "What was it you were going to ask?" 

'Fine, you want to be asshole? You asked for it!' 

"Benitsubasa-chan, can you come here for a second?" I called over my shoulder, then turned back to the camera with a smug look on my face. "I was going to ask how big your tits were. Double D or E?" The indignant response came instantly.

"What! That's-!"

"Whadda you want baka Monkey? I'm busy!" Benitsubasa was obviously cranky at being pulled away from her program or something. She stood just outside the camera view and crossed her arms expectantly. 

"I need a lap warmer, wanna sit?" I smiled at her and she glared dagger at me before rolling her eyes. 

"Whatever, I know you just wanna put your Monkey hands all over me!" She growled, however the bond told the truth. 'Hell yes I wanna cuddle with you!' 

Or at least that's what I thought it would say. 

I snagged the petite pugilist and dropped her in my lap. She squawked and wrapped her arms around my neck. After a moment of squirming she regarded the monitor. 

"This the nerd?" She nodded at the screen and I ruffled her hair. 

"Yeah it's her. Number 02, this is Benitsubasa, Number 105. Say hi Beni-chan!" Suddenly I felt like I was introducing two dogs at the park, or children for a play date. I cringed internally. Benitsubasa stared at the blank screen for a moment before a wicked smile graced her face. 

"Hiya old hag! Just so ya' know I hate nerds and weaklings equally and you sound like both of 'em." She growled, gripping my neck possessively, while at the same time pressing her body up against mine. Her eye's promised violence as she stared into the camera.

Even the pungent odor of wasabi wasn't enough to distract me from the incredibly bad feeling that I had picked the wrong sekirei for the job. 

'Well, this should be interesting at least.' 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

'Old hag? Old hag! Weakling? Jailbait bitch! I'll kill you!!" Matsu's temper flared as the smug looking sekirei insulted her to her face. Well, over the internet at least. 

With great effort she calmed herself and actually looked closely at the little cow in question. 

There was no doubt about it. Matsu had seen enough of her own kind and of humans, with both clothes on and off, to be able to recognize the subtle differences between the two species. 

That little asshole was definitely the latter. From her perfectly formed body, her immaculate skin and impossibly cute face, it was obvious. 

She didn't even need the pink wings that blossomed out of her back when the little harlot turned and possessively kissed the smiling man she was currently using as a chair. Said man tried to take control of the situation, coughing into his hand and stuttering like a moron. 

"Erhm, um, please excuse Benitsubasa, she, uh, is very protective of her Ashikabi." 

'Benitsubasa, Benitsubasa, 105?' Matsu adjusted her glasses as she searched her encyclopedic memory for any recollection of a pink haired sekirei on Kamikura. Coming up empty, she shrugged. That wasn't that surprising actually, she had spent much of her life in isolation, being spared from the general "education" classes the other generations were forced to attend. But still, she had seen her before. She knew it. 

'Ah! The footage from the airport!' That was what it was! It was definitely her, the image appeared in her head. She had been with another white haired sekirei and Karasuba!  

"Wow, he was actually telling the truth. Huh." Uzume stated from her position behind her and Matsu quickly muted the audio feed. 

"I don't know that, all I know is that he is contracted to a sekirei. He could still be on MBI's payroll. This could be a trick to get me to lower my guard and recover the jinki and get back a me..." Matsu began to mumble as her mind concocted a dozen paranoid scenarios on how this could go wrong. She was only brought out of it when she felt a hand rest on her shoulder. 

"Or he could be telling the truth. Fate remember?" Her kouhai smiled reassuringly at her before withdrawing her hand and holding a finger to her chin. "Plus, he's pretty handsome, you could definitely do worse!" The younger woman grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up. 

"But you said you felt something at first glance when you saw Chiho!" Matsu reasoned, right now, she felt, well nothing wasn't exactly correct. She felt lust, but that was normal. Confusion, certainly. Anxiety? Sure. A little salty after being proven wrong. Absolutely! 

But something that she would classify as the fabled "reaction"? 

No. 

"I don't know, maybe it has to be in person! You should ask him out!" Uzume concluded, still optimistic. 

"No, no, no, it's not safe outside." Matsu shook her head. She had to look after the jinki! And M.B.I., well they would find her! "I can't just leave!"

"Well then invite him here, it's not like he could really get away with anything with No. 1 around, right?" Silly little Uzume, always being the voice of reason. Always bringing her back down to earth. 

But. 

'No, no, it's still to risky! It has to be a trap, he knows too much!' She bit her lip, indecisive. "I can't risk them finding you either." Uzume scoffed, they both knew that she was taking much more risks when she left Izumo for her daily jaunts to the hospital. 

"Matsu, are you still there?" The man's called, his face showing a level of concern that caused something inside of her to ache. 

"Why can't we see her anyways? Is the old bag ashamed of her wrinkled butt making you sick?" The little weasel, still draped around Nobe-san's neck, questioned with a smirk. 

"Wrinkled?! I'll show you, you, you little loli-skank! I have an exponentially more to offer than your flat ass could even if you folded yourself in half!" Matsu fumed holding her assets protectively before turning to Uzume, who had just stifled a laugh behind her hand. "Right?" 

"Er, yes of course Senpai but," she pointed to the screen, "you're still muted." 

"What? Oh, er..." The redheaded brain type plugged in a nearby webcam, making sure her hair was in place and she looked presentable. 'It's not like he doesn't already know what I look like anyways.' 

She took a breath and un-muted the connection. 

"Sorry, I was just..." She began to explain, but stopped when she saw the look on the man's face. Like a fish flopping around on a dock, his mouth was open in shock, his eyes wide in surprise. It lasted for only a few moments before he relaxed back into an easy smile. Self consciously, she subtly looked herself over. 'Is he disgusted? Am I-" 

"Matsu. You're more beautiful than I ever could of imagined." Nobe-san said reverently, his steely blue eyes never leaving her orange ones, not even for a second. Matsu had read once that when humans lied, their eyes tended to move around. His never wavered.  "It's good to finally see you." 
 
"I," an ungodly heat suddenly rose from her chest and worked its way into her face. Suddenly her tongue felt swollen and she tried and failed to say anything resembling intelligible words. 

"Hey! Hey! Whatta ya' mean Monkey! Sure she's got big tits, but you know I'm the prettiest one!" The little harpy screeched, shaking her Ashikabi's neck hard enough that for a second Matsu feared she would wring his neck. Instead though, he petted the back, which apparently calmed the firebrand down. 

"You'll always be the cutest Beni-chan, of that have no fear." He calmly stated, his voice full of warmth as he broke eye contact with the camera and looked at the pinkette with doting eyes. The other sekirei cooed and held her head against his chest. 

Matsu felt that ugly feeling again, the sane one she had felt when Uzume had walked through her door last night.

Why couldn't someone look at her like that?

"This is Number 02?" A flat, almost monotone, raspy voice, announced and Nobe-san looked up at where the new white haired arrival was bent over his shoulder. 

"Matsu, Haihane. Haihane, Matsu." He jovially made an introduction, "She's my other sekirei." The ebony eyed sekirei stared at her unblinkingly, for a little too long to be comfortable. 

"Washboard is right, you do look weak." The now named Haihane straightened up and crossed her arms under her nicely shaped bust. "Sekirei-104. Ashikabi-sama says you will be useful, but I do not like you." She abruptly turned and walked away without another word. The chattering pink haired gibbon cackled merrily at the brutal dismissal. 

"Haihane!" The human man called over his shoulder, but turned back to the call with a sheepish look on his face. "I'm sorry about that Matsu, she's usually nicer than that. I don't know what's gotten into her." 

"Oh, so is pink and nasty there also usually nice?" Matsu frowned and nodded her head at the little red eyed brat. 

"Uhhhhh, n-" he was cut off by a slender finger on his lips. Undeterred by the apparent threat, he moved his lips, as if he could blow the offending digit off. He gave her another look, though this one was not nearly so "lovey dovey". "Actually she's being remarkable well behaved. For once." 

"Grrrrrrrrr!"

The Ashikabi ignored the threatening sound and fixed her with a serious look. 

"So what now?" He asked and Matsu had to look away, ashamed of her cowardly answer. She was aware of Uzume behind her kicking the back of her computer chair. 

"I-I can't Nobe-san, I'm sorry." She was ashamed, but that was that, she had her reasons. 

"Bah! I told you she was worthless Monkey!" The pink haired sekirei, Benitsubasa, climbed off of Nobe-san's lap and slinked away  "Come on, give up on this coward, she's not going to be growing a spine any time soon." 

That hurt. It was too close to comfort not too and Matsu drooped her head in shame. It wasn't her fault she wasn't built for combat! It wasn't her fault that she had something to protect! Not for the first time, she wondered if her life would of been better if Asama-sensei had chosen someone else to steal the Jinki. Someone strong. Despite being frustrated with her, Uzume placed a comforting hand on the redhead's shoulder, seeming to sense her troubled thoughts.  

'Just give up Nobe-san, please.'

However, Nobe Sogen, did not look like he was giving up, in fact he looked to be deep in thought, as if considering something. After short silence he spoke, slowly and concisely. 

"So you don't want to meet, because you can't be sure that I'm not with MBI, right?" 

Matsu nodded her head. 

"Well then I'll just have to prove it to you!" He nodded to himself, voice suddenly full of conviction. "Prove to you that I can protect you from whatever that bastard can throw at you. Protect whatever it is that you are scared of losing!" 

Matsu's heart leaped at the sheer certainty of his words. Almost like he already knew the outcome! But who was she kidding? He said that he had already fought Karasuba, but she knew that MBI had much worse to offer against those that would dare to oppose the organization. She had heard whispers, explored data dumps. No, the Black Sekirei was just the tip of the iceberg. 

She expressed as much. 

"You mean those 'Section Zero" freaks? Yeah, I'm aware. In fact I'm counting on them making an appearance." Nobe-san smiled viciously but Matsu paled. She didn't even question how he knew about those monsters, but rather the inevitable outcome of him seeking them out! She would not have another person's blood on her hands!

"No! You can't! I won't have you throw you life away like that! You don't understand, the-" 

"Matsu, that isn't your decision to make." He smiled sadly after cutting her off. "We will do anything for that which we think is precious. Your only decision is whether to give me a chance or not." His eyes shone brightly with conviction and she felt her heart leap again in her chest. 

'Is, is he talking about me?' That did something to her that she liked quite a lot. She also felt a little indignant that he was essentially emotionally manipulating her. 

"I will contact you tomorrow in this chatroom. If I can't earn your trust after that, well, then I will leave you alone. Goodbye." He cut the connection. Matsu instinctively reached out with her technopathy to trace the connection, but it was just, gone. 

"So Big Sis, what're you going to do?" Uzume asked, leaning against desk. 

Despite everything, despite her ever present paranoia and lingering doubts. Despite her shame, she couldn't stop a small smile from breaking out on her face.  

There was a feeling in her chest. A feeling that she hadn't felt in so long. A feeling that just made her battered spirit sing! 

"I guess we'll let fate take a turn Uzu-chan! Seems like the right thing to do, right?" 

"Yes!" Uzume yanked Matsu up out of her chair and crushed her in a hug. "I knew you believed!" After a few seconds, Matsu extricated herself, breathing heavily after being smothered in the larger woman's cleavage.

"I guess so. Now we'd better get downstairs or Miya is going to blow a gasket. Unless," The perverted sekirei eyed her cute little kouhai womanly breasts with a lechourous grin, "Little Uzu-chan wants to play!" She made a groping motion with her hands and Uzume giggled, nimbly dodging out the way and into the doorway. 

"Sorry Matsu, little "Uzu-chan" is taken now. You'll have to find someone else to terrorize! Now come on, I'm hungry!" 

As the pair left, Matsu took one last pensive look at the open messaging app. 

'Nobe-san, please be safe. For your sake....and mine.'

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

Meanwhile, minutes ago, in a nondescript building across the street from the Izumo inn, a MBI surveillance team was hard at work. 

World class SIGINT analysts previously employed at a prestigious intelligence agency, it was the job of the two on duty officers to monitor every minute detail of what was going on in and outside of the restricted property. Cellphone signal interceptors, wire taps receivers, high-tech sound amplification equipment and even a pair of powerful thermal imaging devices. Nothing that happened in the target building went unnoticed, everything was logged.

The fiber lines that had been installed months earlier at the behest of Target Beta were routed directly through their workstation, the man-in-the- middle devices recording every byte of data that was sent and received. Of course they couldn't decrypt the encrypted traffic on location, but the alien-tech based quantum computers back at the Tower laughed at AES-256, so not a single bit of information was allowed to slip by. 

Not that much of any of it was usually of any use. 99% of the traffic too and from the house was either going to stupid image board sites or porn, with a spattering of multiplayer games. All that was courtesy of Beta, as Alpha, Charlie and Delta didn't even seem to possess smart phones, let alone know how to use a computer. 

"Charlie is back." The man operating the thermal imager reported, spotting the alien landing on the rooftop, her blindingly hot signature sticking out like a lake in the middle of a desert. 

"Logging it." His partner sighed, typing in the time, date and description into a nearby laptop. "Man I can't believe she's a dyke." News had spread around the intelligence division that Number-10 had been visiting a girl in the hospital. There were also rumors that the two had bonded. 

"What, did you think your ugly ass had a chance? As far as your concerned, she might as well be asexual." The spotter moved his scope to follow the progress of the alien as she entered the inn, the powerful optics allowing her outline to be seen, even through the thin walks of the traditional Kyto style building. "Side's man, I keep telling you, these aliens aren't like humans, they don't care about what you got between your legs, all that matters is you got the special sauce. Charlie is talking to Alpha, switching to audio." The operator maneuvered the audio receiver, basically a large satellite dish, and pointed it at the nearby window. 

"I know, but goddamn she's so fucking hot! I heard that the night shift got a pic of her taking a bath outside a while back. Fuck, I'd give my left nut to see it." 

"I bet you would." The operator mumbled, concentrating on recording what was being said. Eventually Charlie moved on and Alpha went back to working in the kitchen. 

"What're they talking about?" 

"Dinner and something about Beta being a pig, I don't know, there was distortion. Sending audio file now." 

"Received. Ah, looks like we have unique traffic from the fiber, looks like, uh, an encrypted messaging service?" The logger remarked, reading out a traffic summary for the logging device they had tapped the internet with. 

"Flag it and send for review, Tower will want to know." 

"Logcat active. Hey did you hear about that shit storm at TT yesterday? People are saying that a TRU member went postal, killed a bunch of people, even the Vice Director was injured, fucked her up real bad." 

"Well, no I didn't, I just saw it on the news."

"Dunno, but I know from a guy that was actually there, the dude they were chasing supposedly escaped!"

"Bullshit, there's no fucking way he made it out of there. TT is a fortress, plus that psycho-bitch is there, ain't no way anyone would survive going toe to toe with that thing!" The thought of someone attacking Teito Tower wasn't completely unbelievable, but surviving the inevitable m violent response? Forget it. 

"Well I don't know for sure man, I'm just saying what I heard. But either way, dude had a serious death wish!"

The Operator had to agree. Nobody who was remotely sane would be stupid enough to attack the company in the middle of Shinto Teito!

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

I stood up in front of the TV.

"We're going to attack MBI." 

"Cool, when do we start?" 

"Why?" 

The first came from Benitsubasa. The second from the more level headed Haihane. I had spent the last few hours contemplating exactly how I was going to prove to Matsu that she could trust me. It needed to be something flashy enough that she couldn't deny it, but also nothing too "bold" that would make her think I was completely evil. 

So, no, using Killer Queen to try and take the entire rotten tower down from the base was out. 

"I need to prove to Matsu that she doesn't have have to fear MBI, that she can trust me." And get her to forget about that stupid crystal. I added that last part mentally. 

"Why?" The white haired woman asked again, putting her game system to the side.

"Because I want her and she will be useful to us." I shamelessly admitted, not even trying to hide the avarice behind my reasoning. 

"Ashikabi-sama, she'll probably just think you're insane." Haihane calmly countered, but I just laughed. 

"Does that really matter when it comes to sekirei?" 

"No, I suppose not. I just do not think she is someone who is worth putting your life at risk for." 

"I hate to agree with Q-Tip, but she's right. If the old hag is too scared to take a risk to find her Ashikabi, then why bother?" Benitsubasa pointed out before proceeding to jump up and down excitedly. "But who cares! I get to fight? How're we gonna do it?" 

"Well, I'm still figuring that out." I replied, swiveling back and forth in my chair. "Are there any other sekirei in the tower?" 

"Hmm, other than those yellow freaks?" I nodded, counting the "specials" as something else entirely. "Naw, I don't think so." 

"Saki." Haihane quickly added. 

"Oh yeah! I forgot about her, psh, whatever it's not like that pushover will make a difference." Benitsubasa dismissed the thought with a wave of her hand. 

"Who's Saki?" I questioned, actually not knowing who they were talking about. 

"Oh she's just some weak loser who used to live in our room." Benitsubasa very un-clearly explained. 

"Sekirei Number 55, she was part of the advanced training program that we attended. She might of come to the city when we did." 

"Might of?" I asked and Haihane looked away. 

"She is very weak, probably as strong as No-2, but she has an unique ability that makes it difficult to detect her presence." 

"She means she can go invisible! Which is cool, but when you can hardly fight a human, meh, kinda pointless." Benitsubasa obviously didn't think much of the other sekirei's ability. Haihane nodded. 

"Her combat ability is extremely poor, even you could probably beat her easily. If you saw her coming." Haihane added the last part as a caveat.

I considered that. 'Hmm, sounds like an excellent spy...' I briefly thought of the "Invisible Knife" that I had lost when I was fighting Karasuba. 'Such a waste.' I continued, "Well, I don't intend to be there long anyways, just enough to rattle their cages and send a message." 

"Awww." 

"But even so as the saying goes, no plan survives contact with the enemy so we should assume the worst." I looked from one to another. "I know you said that you want to fight other sekirei one on one, but those yellow jumpsuit freaks. They aren't really sekirei right?" 

"No, from the way you described them, I would say not." 

"Nope!" 

"So if we do end up with them as our opponents, will you work together? Otherwise I'll just say forget it." While I would take such a risk to take Matsu as my own, I would not risk them. Not for this.  

My two sekirei gave each other a meaningful look, before the pinkette shrugged. "Sure, whatever. As long as I get show off, some freak's feeling don't matter!" 

"And you will follow my orders? If I say it's time to leave, will you obey?"

"Yes Ashikabi-sama." Haihane bowed her head but Beni took a little more convincing. After which...

"Fine, if I have too, but you'd better not mess with my fun too much!" She wagged her finger at me before transitioning into a fighting stance, "Otherwise I might just go wild. Grrrr!" Benitsubasa held up her hands in a claw like motion. Which was adorable, but a little less so when I knew exactly what those hands were capable of. 

"I'll keep that in mind." Some might say I was being hasty, reckless even, but I had reason to be. Not only were the girls almost on par with Karasuba when it came to raw stats, I also had a secret weapon. The "Ashikabi" job. I had apparently  earned enough points to level it up and with it  an unlock for the tier one job skill. 

"Encouraging Shout: Level 1
Go team! Show your special ones love by giving them the gift of raw naked power! Great for birthdays, Valentines day or just special occasions. 
Effects: Restore 15% of sekirei companion HP and boost all stats by 10 for thirty seconds." 

We couldn't lose. And even if we did, I had already forced the concession of retreat from my more stubborn fighter. 

Considering the conversation mostly over, I checked the time. It was already close to seven and I knew we would be having a busy day tomorrow. An early one too. 

"Alright, we'll I'm sure I'll figure something out, but in the meantime how about I rustle up some grub?" 

Food? I needn't of asked. Of course the answer was,

"YES!" 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Director Sahashi, this is Jin." The earpiece on Takami's cellphone reverberated with the TRU Commander's deep voice. 

"Commander, I hope this call is important. I am with the CEO right now and asked not to be disturbed" The appointed project head of the "Sekirei Plan" said with a huff of annoyance. She lifted the gaudy golden chalice that she had grabbed and sipped at the fizzy orange soda contained within, wishing desperately it was wine. 

"Yes, I know, surveillance team at the Hen House reports that No. 2 is communicating with unknown entities via encrypted chat and video. The Intel department is still working to crack the encryption." 

"And why is this my concern? Sekirei 02 is a paranoid lout, this is hardly out of the ordinary." Though Takami would like nothing better than to wring the traitorous lechers neck, it was the apparent connection to that bastard Nobe Sogen that had her worried. They still could'nt move on the Izumo Inn, not while Asama-san's widow was around. She was too busy with everything already to spread herself even thinner worrying about whatever it was the brain type was getting up to. Though vengeance would surely come later. 'You dare put my children in jeopardy! You will regret the day I pulled you out of that test tube! Scrapped? There will be nothing left!' 

"It was flagged because it was a new IP she was connecting with. An IP address, that once cross checked, has been associated with Nobe S-" 

"You will tell me the moment the encryption has been broken!" She scathingly demanded, cellphone shaking with anger. 

"Of course ma'am!" 

Seeing no more use in continuing the conversation, she hung up and disgustedly tossed her phone in the table. The past twenty four hours had been a nightmare, after what had happened, it seemed that everyone was demanding a little piece of her. 

Already she had a stack of reports on her desk in her office thicker than a spectrometer! Background investigations, theoretical explainers, casualty reports, building damage assessments, proposed operational plans, requests to study the security footage, it was never ending! 

And it all had to do with that freak! That "Nobe Sogen", who if but yesterday had never occurred, would of never been anything but a footnote in some employee roster stuck down in HR!

"I hope it was good news for you Takami-chan, anger is no good for healing." Despite being the one to invite her to "dinner" the man sitting across from her had hardly looked at her since she had entered the dining room. She would chalk it up to the fact that she had kneed him in the groin not a day's past, but then that would mean she didn't know Hiroto Minaka as well as she unfortunately did. "You should try the foie gras, it's quite good." He might of endorsed its quality, but he hadn't taken a single bite yet, completely consumed with tinkering with a strange contraption. It looked like a cross between a rebreather and a kabuki mask. Whatever it was it was obviously supposed to be worn over the mouth. Absurdly, next to Minaka sat a rag tag assortment of greasy tools were discarded without rhyme or reason, right next to the fine china containing tonight's main course. The dirty implements had completely fouled the pristine white silk table cloth. 

"I don't see your artist friend around anywhere, have you grown bored of him already?" Takami looked around the grand hall. In fact she didn't see anyone, just a pair of those same Section-0 guards standing still like statues at the end of the cavernous room. If she didn't know any better, she would say they were the same two ones that guarded the outer doors, but she knew better. 

"Who?" Minaka asked, not even looking up from his work. Takami sighed, thinking for perhaps the thousandth time what she had ever seen in the garishly dressed man. Today he was wearing a white lab coat, white slacks and a button up shirt. For a moment she had a vision of a twenty something year old Minaka, excitedly telling her about his plans to revolutionize the global food supply. He had always been eccentric, many a time she had been shamed for going out with the 'forever chunibyo", a serious intellectual powerhouse like herself associating with such a freak! 

She hadn't cared, he had been so pure, so innocent, so driven and brilliant in his own right! She had fallen for him hard and never gotten back up.

It was only later she would discover the pits of hell she would end up following him into. 

'What did that damned island do to us? What did it do to you? If only we had never found it!' That wasn't the first time she had wandered down that particular "what if". 

Now, there wasn't much left of the man who had fathered her children. Oh, he was still eccentric and dressed like a fool. But he now was obsessed with the sekirei and this damn plan of his. The global technology giant MBI that they had worked for decades to create, was nothing more than a means to an end for him! They had argued dozens of times over the years over the pointlessness of investing so much capital and time in the "Plan", but always it fell on deaf ears. And he had only gotten worse over the years, more secretive, more paranoid and cloistered. The technological developments that had been mined from the alien tech on Kamikura had slowed to a trickle. In his insanity, Minaka had become greedy, hoarding all of the more advanced technology for himself, muttering about the "return of the gods" and "preparing the way".

Takami took another sip of the fizzy drink. Minaka could not stand alcohol to be around him, even if he was not the one partaking. "This body is a temple to the old way, even as degraded as time has made a mockery of its form." 

She had no idea what that meant. 

However, there was a reason for her in accepting his regularly ignored invitation to dinner. 

"Minaka we need to talk." Takami tried, scratching the bandage that had been placed over her eye, where that rabid black dog had wounded her. The doctors still didn't know if her eye would recover, or if it would have to be removed. Flash cloning techniques had advanced greatly over the past decade and MBI led the world, but it would still not be HER eye!

"So it was bad news then? That is unfortunate." He chatted absentmindedly, flipping the device in his hands over and accessing the internal wiring. 

"Nobe Sogen, he is too dangerous to be left alive." At the mention of the at name, her once lover finally set down his meaningless contraption and addressed her properly. 

"Nobe-san? Dangerous? Hah! Nonsense Takami-chan, as the first inaugural competitor in the Sekirei Plan, he is to be celebrated! Nabbing two such powerful Sekirei right off the bat and enticing a third, it is more than I ever expected this early! But heh," the madman smiled and rubbed his chin, "Though he was almost beat out by little Uzume-chan, I never would of guessed she would find her Ashikabi so quickly! Hoh, hoh, hoh!" It was the only thing that he would even engage with anymore, anything outside of the plan had lost its hold on him. Everything. Takami stood and walked around the long table, finally coming to a stop next to the deranged man. She moved a soldering iron out of the way and sat on the table. 

"Minaka, If you are in there somewhere, I need you to listen. That man, thing, whatever it is, it threatened our children. He is dangerous and he needs to be dealt with. Now. We do not know what we are dealing with. All the reports I have read have been postulating at best. He is a risk to our family and everything we have built!" She held his hand and he looked at her. For a second she thought, 'Maybe this time he's with me.' But as soon as the feeling came it left, and she saw that the CEO of MBI, arguably the most powerful man in the world, looked right through her, a goofy saccharine smile in his face. 

"I know! I'll just give him a ring and we'll clear all this up. We beseech the God's for wisdom and they respond with providence! Perhaps that is the lesson we should take from this. Until their return we can only interpret their will through their actions!" The madness had fully taken hold again by this point and Takami dropped his limp hand a look of disgust on her face. Moments later he snapped his fingers and yelled. 

"Guard, phone!" One of the armored featureless guards jogged forward and handed her master a phone. He dismissed the thing with a wave of his hand and it trotted back to its spot. 

Takami idly considered murdering Minaka, not for the first time. She knew most factions in the company would support the overthrow and there would never be an investigation. Though, she glanced at the back of the white clad guard as it spun back to face forward, locking it's arms behind its back and she knew she would never survive the attempt. 

"It's ringing!" The jungian man-child excitedly exclaimed, pressing a button to transfer the call to speaker. After a few brief moments of the phone chiming, someone picked up. 

"What?" The voice was deep and masculine. Not to mention extremely rude. In the background there was a whirring sound, like an exhaust fan over a kitchen stove. 

"I apologize ahead of time for my subpar performance, but I never expected to be making this announcement so early!" The CEO of MBI tittered like an embarrassed schoolboy.

The other side of the line was silent. The only sound being the fan. Minaka waited expectantly with bated breath, but no response was forthcoming. After about a minute Minaka cleared his throat. 

"Er, well let's just get to it!" He joked, his tone jovial before he launched into his spiel. 

"Congratulations! You have been chosen as the the Ashikabi partner for the wonderful Sekirei 104 and 105! This is a great opportunity gifted to us by the blessings of the gods! To be a part of a great game!" He paused for affect. 

Still nothing. 

"Soon we will release more Sekirei into the city! And then they and their partners will enter a battle royale, competing for a grandest of prizes, a single granted wish!" Her boss waved his hands embarrassingly like a magician, "Unfortunately, as I said, we still have some technical difficulties to sort out before we can begin, but..." 

"Hiroto Minaka?" The voice on the other end questioned, absolutely lacking any sort of excitement or uncertainty.

"Yes! It is I, the Professor Hiroto, messenger of the gods, leader of the cho-" For the second time the yammering egomaniac was interrupted as the freak on the other end of the line spoke.

"I'm going to rip all your limbs off with my bare fucking hands." 

"Click" The line disconnected and the President of MBI looked at the phone with confusion written all over his face.

"Hmm, perhaps I laid it on a bit thick with my performance?" He wondered and Takami saw red.
 
"How, how are you so completely oblivious!" She shrieked, rearing her hand back in preparation for a slap! 

Something akin to a steel vice arrested her hand during its wind up. She looked up, stunned at the Guard unit that had crossed about 20 meters in what appeared to be a single instant. Its smooth helmeted face, completely bereft of any sort of lenses, stared blankly at her. 

"Now, now my love, no need for violence. My guards were none to pleased with the state you left me in yesterday!" Minaka chuckled, picking up the object he had been fiddling with, the death threat he had just received already forgotten. "They get so very protective, you know?" He nodded toward the modified sekirei and it released her hand without a word and stood back behind his chair, hands once again locked behind its back. 

"Do you even know what you are dealing with? The man just threatened to kill you for no reason!" Takami rubbed her wrist, which would undoubtedly be bruised before the day was out. 

"No reason? Oh my dear, he has much more reason to hate me than most." Minaka reached for the soldering gun that Takami had moved and began to attach a series of wires to an exposed circuit board. 

As with most things it wasn't exactly surprising to find out that the white dressed man knew more than he let on. It was one of his more infuriating traits but rarely was he actually caught flat footed. 

"Dare I ask what exactly you did to gain such virulent ire?" Takami subtly distanced herself from the him and his looming metal clad shadow. 

"His father was one of the humans who invaded Kamikura." Minaka stated simply, finishing his work and resealing the access panel on the side of the mask. "To be or not to be! It is almost Shakespearean. A quest for vengeance, a villain hosting a tournament with the hero entering it, seeking revenge!" The front of the demonic mask lit up after he pressed a recessed button om the side. "It's perfect!" 

"That explains his feeling towards you, but little else. It also only makes it more important that we DO SOMETHING!" She ended up gripping the table. 

"He is part of the plan now, you know as well as I that our role is to only moderate and administer support. Nothing else matters." 

"He is in contact with Sekirei-02! The plan itself will be in jeopardy if he wings her and gains access to the jinki!" Takami didn't know if that was strictly true, but she shuddered to think what havoc could be unleashed if such a potent technopath was under the command of that psychopath. Not even taking into account whatever her Norito would turn out to be capable of. The jinki itself was less of a concern, they were useless unless one possessed a full set and even then there was still debate on what exactly they were. "And Karasuba is still missing!" Her eye ached as she mentioned the ever present loose end. "If you continue to do nothing, then I will act on my own and to hell with what you desire!"

"So find her. I will allow the release of some of Professor Derrickson's creations to assist you." Minaka finally addressed her with a focused gaze. "Recover Sekirei-2 and the jinki too if you can. But  I will sanction no operations targeting declared Ashikabi's or their flocks unless I deem it to be absolutely necessary." He set the mask down and his voice became filled with authority. "We will act in accordance to the wishes of the gods Takami, you will never dare to act above your station." 

Despite hearing what she wanted, at least in part, the grey haired scientist's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Why the sudden change?" Despite knowing she shouldn't question the man's change of heart, she needed to be cautious. 

"Because it will be interesting." Minaka shrugged, a goofy smile reappearing on his face as he grabbed the strange device and tossing it towards her. She caught it and looked it over. 

"What is this?" 

"We have entertained No-1 in her grief but there is a greater role for her to play." He placed on hand on top of the other rubbing his thumb. "The Pillar is an interesting creature, truly of a heavenly design. But, we have waited too long to recover the jinki and the consequences of Takehito's betrayal have been allowed to persist for far too long. We must now set the board before the game begins. That item will allow you to exert a small portion of their divinity. Use it to bring her to heel, remind her of her duty to her creators. Do what you wish to our unwinged trouble makers, but recovery is preferable to termination." 

"I don't understand, you know as well as I why we have left her alone! Whatever this device does, it will not change that!" Takami would not hesitate to send employees to their deaths, but it had to be for a reason. However Minaka laughed at her concerns.

"Have some faith Takami-chan." He stood, his bodyguard pulling the chair out from under him. "I have enjoyed our dinner together, but now I must retire." He gestured towards the door. "I trust you know the way out?" 

Takami nodded, still trying to come to grips with what exactly he wanted from her. Minaka didn't wait, wheeling around and marching out of the dining hall, his armored companion pausing momentarily to give her a blank stare before moving to follow it's master. 

'Damn you Minaka.' She mentally cursed, but there was much to do and she hadn't the time to waste deciphering the actions of the maniacal man.

She opened her contacts and called the person she had spoken to earlier. Two rings and the rumbling voice of Commander Jin greeted her. 

"Sahashi-sensei, what is it?" 

"Commander, prepare an operations scheme for breach and recovery at the Hen House. We will be receiving assistance from Section Zero, so plan accordingly." 

"Hai, should I call for an executive meeting?" 

"Do so. I will be down shortly." Takami hung up and entered the elevator, a plan coming together in her mind.

Minaka might of forbidden her from specifically seeking out and eliminating Nobe Sogen and his little runaways, but accidents did happen. And acting in self defense? Well nobody could fault her if MBI had to act to protect its assets. It would be a pity if the man found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Unfortunate, but it would be for the best.

Then there was the matter of Minato and Yukari. It would be so much simpler if she could simply whisk them away into protective custody, tell them the truth about their heritage. But she and Minato, back when he was still somewhat sane, had long ago decided that it was for the best if they were left in the dark. 

'Minato will be coming to the city in a few months to take his exams again and Yukari is starting school soon. Perhaps...' No, she could not deny him that. 'But he will be unprotected! And it's not like those imbeciles at the Security Service would be able to....' She knew that Minato, no both of her children possessed the potential to become Ashikabi. There was an option, but one that would just place them in even more danger! 'I could go after Nobe's family. Take them hostage as insurance.' But that could just motivate him to even greater violence! No, better that he died now, it would be better for everyone. 

'You will not harm my children or their legacy you monster, I will not allow it.' The elevator descended and the vindictive mother continued to scheme. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Dinner is served!" I announced, setting the steaming plate of fried breaded pork on the dining room table next to the pot of unfortunately miso-less daishi stock. 

I hadn't even managed to seat myself fully before the food was under attack by a swarm of extraterrestrial locusts! 

I reached for the ladle, but it was snatched away by Benitsubasa, who dumped the contents directly onto her plate, eschewing the bowl I had set out for that purpose in favor of immediately filling it with even more rice. 

"Nice! What's, mmmh, this called again?" She complimented with a mouth full of partially chewed food.

"It WAS pork katsu," I griped, not even managing to drag a single piece onto my plate before it all disappeared into two greedy pairs of hands. Although, maybe one of them had a bit of empathy. Haihane looked at me with pity before hesitantly dropping something onto my plate. 

I nudged the half eaten piece of pork with my chopsticks. Haihane looked down at the food and then back up. 

"Thanks Haihane, that's mighty kind of you." I lifted it to my mouth took a bite off the un-chewed end. "Mmmm, yum!" 

"I apologize. I am not used to limiting myself." Haihane looked at Benitsubasa, who showed no such self awareness. "I don't want to act like her." 

"That's good because you couldn't if you tried Q-tip. One of a kind here!" The voracious violent moppet bragged. "'Sides, Monkey-kun knows that I need all the food to stay in shape. Can't do my best if I'm not satisfied!" She rubbed her swollen belly with pride. That brought a funny notion to my head.

"Right." I sighed and sprinkled some furikake on my rice. 'I wonder if sekirei can get pregnant?' I couldn't remember that from the manga, but from past statements, Benitsubasa seemed to think she could. 'And if not, where did the hybrid Ashikabi candidates come from? But, wait, they possess an ashikabi gene, not a sekirei gene. What does that mean?' I looked at Benitsubasa again just as she left out a mighty belch.

I realized then that I feared the pregnant Beni-chan. 

"You're right, if I let you loose on MBI they might just give up." I paused, giving Haihane a knowing wink, "From hunger." The white hair girl snickered.

"Yeah, yeah, just wait until you see in action after a good meal, I'll, I'll," the Red Sekirei let out another loud bodily function, this time a yawn. "I'll massacre them." 

"Uh oh, looks like it's time for bed." I shoveled a few more lumps of seaweed sprinkled rice into mouth and gobbled down the rest of the gifted pork. "Think you two can handle doing the dishes? I have a few searches to make online before bed." 

"Yes." Haihane turned to Benitsubasa, who was drinking directly from the ladle again. "I will wash and you will dry and put away." The pink haired sekirei dropped the serving spoon from her smacking lips and sneered. 

"Why do you get to do the fun part!" 

"Because you will just make a mess. Now are you finished?" 

"In your dreams!" Benitsubasa lifted the entire still steaming pot of soup up to her lips and began to chug. 

I left them to squabble over that, instead summoning my laptop and opening a search tab. A plan had begun form in my mind. Nothing too fancy. Nothing too dangerous. Just enough to send a message. I quickly found what I was looking for, which in this case was simply a nearby hardware store. See, nothing unusual about that! 

My teeth ground together loud enough to compete with the sounds of pans and dishes clanking together. 

I admit, I was a little on edge. Receiving the unexpected "welcome call" from Minaka had put me in a sour mood. Murderous even. The sound of breaking dishes came from the direction of the kitchenette, but I ignored it. 

'Might as well look at some apartments.'

An hour later I was laying in bed, an arm wrapped around a sekirei each, thinking about tomorrow. The lights were off, but I could see the full moon through the glass door to the balcony.

"Goodnight Ashikabi-sama. I know you will figure something out." Haihane reassured me, perhaps sensing my nervous energy through the bond. 

"Thanks. Yeah hopefully I will I, ugh!" I stopped the conversation when something foul reached my nose mid speech. "Benitsubasa!" I accused but the little fighter shook her head. 

"Hey! I chugged the whole mouthwash container like you said! And I brushed my teeth!" She reasoned and this close I could already tell she was right. This was no leftover wasabi breath, it smelled more like....

"Like wet cat." I moved my head around sniffing for the source, but it was already gone. "Huh, must be from next door or something." 

"Jeeze, is Monkey-kun going crazy?" Benitsubasa stage whispered to no one in particular and I pinched the back of her neck. 

"I'll show you crazy, Beni-chan!" I gave her a big old smackaroo, right on the lips. "It's crazy that I still love you as much as I do!" I hardly even noticed her wings sprouting. 

"You'd be crazy NOT to! And that's the whole truth." 

"Mmm. G'night." 

"Goodnight." 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

The moon cast shadows around the interior of the compact apartment. All was still within. Three motionless figured lay entangled together on the bed, unknowing of the fourth who watched silently, unseen from the corner. 

There was no obvious evidence of the other's presence, other than the play of dust particles swirling around an unseen mass and perhaps the faintest wheeze of breath entering and leaving hidden lungs.  

The room had been quiet for sometime, the sleepers deeply under the capture of dreams, before there came another small change. A scrabbling noise, softly, softly, it moved across the floor until it came to the head of the bed and stopped. Silence reigned again. The large man in the middle of the love pile shifted in his sleep, moving to a slightly more comfortable position, at least as much comfort as he was allowed to have. 

He would never know how close to death he was. 

A cherry red drop of blood materialized seemingly out of nowhere above the man's face. It fell through the air and splattered on the slumbering man's cheek. He twitched, but remained under the moonlit spell. 

Good that he did, for as that bit of blood fell, so did the aura of invisibility that had been obscuring the hidden figure. 

The head of Karasuba, the Black Sekirei, appeared above the sleeping man. Seemingly disembodied, her scowling visage floated a mere foot away, a tiny bead of red trickling off her brow. Though the newly discovered grey haired dullaham existed only for a brief moment as with the sound of fabric being cut the rest of Sekirei-04's ragged appearance was laid bare. The pale skinny woman looked haggard, as if she hadn't slept and her black battle kimono was ripped, burnt and otherwise destroyed. Parts of her raw blistered skin showed through the holes in the battered garment.

Her face lowered and upside down she closely inspected the man that had a day prior destroyed everything that she thought she knew. 

He was sleeping peacefully, surrounded by people that loved him. He looked young, younger than she had originally thought. Maybe it was those deep lines under his eyes that made him appear older. Or the easy way he held himself. But right now, under the deathless guise of sleep, he looked normal. 

And it disgusted her. 

Karasuba held that strange knife loosely in her hand, the razor sharp point a hair's breadth away from the helpless man's temple. It had been a useful tool, after she had fled from the Tower, after the explosion, she had used it on herself to avoid detection. 

The ability to render anything it cut invisible. It made no sense. But it worked. That couldn't be said about much else in her life so far. Thougj outside of her one sided rivalry with Yume, what did? The knife was just an unexpected development, just like the man himself.

It also had was a few seconds away from making something else that was troubling disappear. 

She imagined the sweet feeling of puncturing his flesh and bone, the final feeble twitches of his body as it tried to figure out the unknown state of death. The silent defeat of the two whores curled up to him, not even given the dignity of final fights, put down like animals.

'It is their fault, they chained themselves to this weak, vulnerable creature! We need no one, our strength is our own!' She mentally ranted, remembering all of the times she had witnessed the weakness of the unnecessary species that was humanity! 'They are being stunted, held back! That is, that is...' But she had never met a human like this one. 

Karasuba breathed deeply, taking in the scent of the man in front of her. Blood, underneath a layer of soap and food smells, there was no doubting that he had killed again since she had seen him last. 

Karasuba felt the unexplored region between her legs twinge with excitement. The little harlots, she would always pretend to not know their names, were similarly marked, as if they had gone to battle together. A battle that had produced results, because despite her insults there was one undeniable fact.

The other two sekirei, her old playthings, they had gotten stronger. Much more so. She could feel it, this close, that special sixth sense that allowed her to judge her opponents. They had increased in power, though she could not say how. 

The black sekirei's torso throbbed, right above the spot where her supposed "destined one" had tried to gut her with a stabbing strike. This accursed affliction had revealed itself then, a pull on that same core. A pull that became stronger the closer she came to him. 

It was how she had tracked him down after they had been separated, the pull had lured her in like a wolf on the prowl for newly discovered scents. 

Right now that thrumming pressure was almost unbearable. Every fiber of her being told her to make the contract, to submit. That pathetic nature of her kind. She might of looked down on humanity as a whole, but at least they were free to make their own decisions. 

The dagger wobbled in her hand. Another drip of crimson dripped down to the tip of her nose. 

A whole life, lived for the sake of a promise that could no longer be truly fulfilled. Yume was gone, taken by the callous wasteful greed of skittering insects and her own sentimental weakness. Her inheritor, No. 88, did not come close in terms of strength, but still it had to be done. She had to prove that her beliefs were correct and the Sekirei of Destiny was the one who was blind. 

Except she had already lost. The moment her heart had revealed itself to the man who tried to lovingly slay her, she had failed. 

That same heart burned.

"I hate you." Karasuba's slitted eyes stared unerringly at the man who had destroyed everything she had thought to be true. The man who had already broken her to the point that she could never put herself back together again. 

Burned for him. 

Even killing him now would not change that. Even beating No. 88 would not change that. Denying that all of this had happened would not change that. Nothing would change this.

The wounds on her breast where he had pierced and cut her without mercy ached pleasurably. 

Yume was right. 

Karasuba was wrong. 

And she had always been wrong.

She could not face that realized truth. The knife was withdrawn. Destiny had won.

Moment's later the door to the moonlit apartment opened softly to the cold outside as the Black Sekirei fled the scene of her utter ruination. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

Waking up to find the door to our apartment wide open was a bit unnerving. The draft running through the apartment had been the first clue, but it wasn't the last. I shook my head, clearing strange unnerving dreams from my mind. I had been a child, but alone. So, so alone. I had hated everything. 

"Ashikabi-sama there's something on your face." Haihane had pointed out and I had quickly determined the dried splattered liquid to be blood, in fact not of my own. 

"Someone was here last night. Watching us sleep." I suddenly had a powerful desire to no longer be here. It was an invasion of privacy, not to mention I could of been killed at the voyeur's leisure.

Battle Meditation wouldn't of even warned me of an incoming attack because it wasn't active. 

"I didn't notice anything, like weird." Beni muttered as she began to scrounge around the kitchenette, looking for food. "If they were too scared to fight, they must not of been a big deal. So whatever." 

"Some guard dog you turned out to be." I muttered around a mouthful of toothpaste. 'Was it that Saki?' The thought of MBI spying on us was a certain. I'm sure they already knew where we were living so sending an infilitration asset for some nefarious purpose was almost a given. 'Maybe to check for something.' But then why would they go through all that just to make it blatantly obvious they had been there? Why not just wait until we were gone? Then there was the blood. 

"It was Karasuba." I said as I spat a mouthful of toothpaste into the sink. As I rinsed my mouth out, Benistubasa came to stand behind me. 

"Kara-Karasuba? 04? Why?" Beni's voice was tinged with fear, no doubt years of abuse at the hands of the Black Sekirei coloring her response. 

"Yes." I reached back and grabbed her in a side hug, "You don't need to worry, I would bet she was here for me." 

"That is a reason to worry!" Benitsubasa informed me, hugging me back. 

"Well she must of found what she was looking for, my heads still attached after all." I ran a comb through my messy hair and tried to give her a reassuring smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. "Now come on, get dressed we have to go house shopping today, best get an early start." 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Thank you for your interest Nobe-san! We will forward the paperwork and set up a date to conclude the sale." The Realtor greeted and bowed to me, obviously more than happy to have concluded the day with a sale in hand. This was the third property we had visited today and the only one that had met the criteria. 

A medium sized single family home in the outskirts of the northern part of Shinto Teito. Three bedrooms, two stories, a single bath and two water closets, a little over two hundred and twenty million yen. Which was insane, to be polite, but it was what they were asking for and I wasn't in an position to argue. I had looked at a few industrial properties, but not only had it added another zero on the end of the price, but the girls hadn't been all too keen in living in a "rusty dump" and had used their veto.

"So is this it guys?" I asked politely, Haihane nodded enthusiastically and Benitsubasa gave a thumbs up. 

"Yah, it's yah know, actually cozy. Unlike other places I could mention." She stared off into space, ignoring my side look. 

"How soon can we move in?" I asked ignoring Beni and meaningfully tapping my watch-less wrist. 

"Well there is some paperwork to fill out and as MBI is automatically a lien holder on mortgages now, it has to clear their legal department and they are usually running a few months behind. So I should say-" 

"What about a cash purchase?" I looked at them meaningfully and their eyes widened. 

"Well I suppose if that is the case, we can of course expedite the titling process. Um, as a VIP client, as soon as the funds clear, a day?" 

Amazing how much money is able to smooth over life's little annoyances. 

"Killer, give me the account and I'll have my bank wire the fees." 

The rest of the process was just a formality at that point. I would have to sign some paperwork, but it could be done electronically and essentially the house was already ours. 

A hour or so later and we were waiting for the train, having just eaten lunch at an excellent noodle restaurant. It was a little after noon and the above ground subway station was packed, full of salary men heading out to lunch or heading into second shift. Our new home was in Kita-Ku, which was a special district in the north of Shinto Teito. It was turning out to be a rather hot day, which also seemed to be reflected on the tempers being displayed by everyone present. But mainly by...

"This is taking forever! Why can't we just take a taxi or walk!" Benitsubasa griped but I couldn't really disagree with her. Even the station attendants looked frustrated with the whole ordeal. 

"Please forgive the delay while we work to resolve a malfunction, please forgive the delay...." A canned announcement played on repeat but it was not obvious if it actually had any relevance to what was going on. 

"This is bad, Ashikabi-sama, I do not like this." Haihane tugged on the sleeve my Hawaiian T-shirt, warily looking around her as the crowd pushed in. The girls were dressed in different outfits. Today Benitsubasa was wearing a flashy set of yellow denim overall shorts and a pink and white striped long sleeved shirt. Meanwhile Haihane had on black leggings and a grey sleeveless sweatshirt. They made an odd looking duo, but it was obvious that neither was enjoying the crowd. I watched as a middle-aged man in a cheap suit accidentally backed into Benitsubasa. She glared at him for the sudden unwanted contact, but managed to restrain herself. For now.

"I know, just, hold on."  I looked around the busy platform. 'Maybe we can just take a taxi or...' The sudden intrusive idea came hard and fast. 'Why are we putting up with this?' I looked from face to face in the crowd. Average people, living average lives, just going about their business. They weren't us. They weren't planning to attack a multi-billion dollar fascist corporation in a bid to win the trust and affection of a techno-wizard alien babe. In a few hours there was a slim chance that almost everyone on earth would know that I, freak of nature that I was, existed. Of course that depended on how tight the MBI censors were, but still.

Why did we have to pretend? 

I turned to my flock, and grinned. 

"Follow me." I crouched, gathering the strength of my legs beneath me, and earning more than a few confused stares from the people around us. That confusion quickly turned to shock and awe when I launched myself up over the crowd and landed gracefully on top of a ticket booth. The uneasy murmur of the crowd was palpable as they witnessed something that should not be humanly possible. The murmur grew to a roar when Benitsubasa and Haihane joined me, their leaps taking them easily the distance that I had just traversed. 

"What the heck are you doing?" Benitsubasa asked while cocking her head to the side. 

"Taking a shortcut." I laughed, springing off the ticket booth and soaring over the train tracks onto the opposite canopy that provided shade for the platform underneath. I laughed and began to run along the roof, marveling at the feeling of air rushing by as I broke into a dead sprint. The platform ended a little ways ahead, the train track continuing on in a wide curve, an elevated bridge that crossed over the city streets below. I looked forward past were it all opened up.  

It was a spectacular view. The whole city was displayed before us in a spectacular vista. Dozens of miles, the skyscrapers of Shinjuku and Roppongi, the massive hulking form of Teito Tower, all the way out to the bay far in the distance and the thousands upon tens of thousands of rooftops between us and it.  This section of Shinto Teito ran along a bluff and the drop off between the end of the track and the rooftops below was well over 70 meters. 

My speeding form reached the end of the run and I was suddenly flying through the air with nothing below my feet except air and the ground far, far below.

Benitsubasa whooped with delight, her shout almost lost in the rush of wind as we shot out horizontally like a ball from a cannon. At the apex of my jump, I activated Double Jump, regaining my lost velocity and surging into ever greater heights. However, the same could not be said for Haihane and Beni-chan, who continued their descent. 

I realized my mistake and twisted my body in mid air and Double Jumped directly downwards. The rooftops below grew larger, going from miniatures to life size alarmingly quickly as I caught up with the girl's in freefall and passed them. Learning from past experience, I aimed for a nearby rooftop, firing my last charge just before impacted. With my momentum bled, I sumersaulted forward, rolling over my shoulder and returning to my feet back into a sprint. 

"SKILLS: Movement - Parkour: Journeyman (43)" was really coming in handy here. I could almost see the moment when I should begin to move to allow a successful transition.

I reached the end of the large apartment building I had landed on and vaulted up to the edge before propelling myself over the twenty meter open air street and landing on top of another building, this one topped with stacks of industrial air conditioning units and water fixtures. I slid under a large air handler and jumped over a set of thick metal pipes before I continued free running. A quick glance behind showed that Haihane and Benitsubasa were hot on my heels.

Beni had a ecstatic looks plastered all over her faces, like she was finally being allowed to exercise a muscle long gone unused. Even the stoic Haihane had cracked a gleeful smile. 

I came to another gap between buildings, but instead of leaping over I dropped down, swinging myself off an overhead fire escape and jumping to lip that stuck out from the adjacent building. I ran along the narrow edge, passing by workers and homeowners alike in their windows until I came to the end of the walkway. Swan diving, I took the multi story drop easily, displacing my speed again and landing on a colorful awning covering the entrance to a hostess bar. I hit the bouncy canvas and slid off, landing back on the street. A woman's voice shrieked and I waved cattily to the startled girl wearing a bunny costume. 

"Hey there!" I laughed before I sped off again, glancing back. Benitsubasa didn't bother with the awning, her alien physiology allowing her to completely absorb the roof to ground impact with ease.

The bunny girl fainted.  

Our impromptu chase began again, this time I took us into traffic, dodging around cars and buses with inhuman dexterity. I didn't know what my top speed was, but from the way I was keeping pace and even surpassing the flow of traffic, I would guess, I was moving at a good 70 kph. 

And I wasn't even draining my stamina bar. 

Spotting that there was an exit to a freeway coming up on the right, I took it, noting Haihane leaping off the last row of buildings on my left and landing silently behind me. We zig-zagged between traffic, weaving through the slightly congested freeway before transitioning to moving along the raised concrete shoulder. I saw ahead that the road opened up and the distances between cars increased as they picked up speed. I pushed myself to my limit, moving as fast I could conceive of without putting "all" of my effort in. The cars in front of me slowly pulled away, even at my top speed. On the highway, they were probably going around 110 kph or so and I was slowly falling behind. 

So I truly "sprinted". 

My stamina bar began to tick down noticeably, but it hardly mattered. With a fabulous burst of speed, I flew off the shoulder and almost smashed into the back of a box truck! Just in time I instead managed to leap off the road and clung to a large overhead sign, the entire massive frame moving slightly from the impact of my body. Car's honked excitedly below me, but I doubt anyone had actually had the time to recognize what exactly they had just seen.

In that short amount of time, I estimated I had moved about a half a kilometer from where I had kicked on the 'afterburners'. I did an extremely rough mental calculation. Give or take 220 kph.

I whistled. That was no means a small feat.  

Want to know what was scarier though? My two companions who I had left in the dust had already caught up.

Watching Benitsubasa's tiny legs move at such a pace that they became a blur might of been amusing, until you realized just how fast she was actually moving! And Haihane was moving even faster, seeming to lope across the ground, spending more time in the air with each stride than she actually did touching pavement. 

'Damn, they're scary.' I thought for not the first time and beckoned for them to join me up on my perch. Not waiting, I hopped to the other sign of the sign, finding a little catwalk that allowed me to sit and dangle my feet down over the heads of the passing traffic. 

"Ashikabi-sama, why did we just do that?" Haihane asked me once she arrived, balancing on the edge of one of the rounded support poles that made up the sign's structure. 

"Well..." I was going to say 'Because I could.' but that seemed like a pretty lame excuse. So I settled for the actual legitimate reason, which was also the truth. "Remember when I said you guys move like you're human?"

"Yeah, I distinctly remember being insulted." Benitsubasa flippantly remarked having come to stand next to me. 

"Well I figured to break you out of that we should start doing some three dimensional movement drills." I looked down as a car honked at what only could be us. "Plus, you know, fuck traffic." 

I knew we all could agree on that universal truth. 

"I agree that traffic is something that sucks, but as bad as being stuck with short, surly and stupid here in a confined space-

"Hey!"

"What exactly was wrong with our fighting styles?" Haihane finished, putting her hand up and pushing away Benitsubasa's menacing mug. 

"There's nothing really wrong per se, it's just you should be much, much, agile and quicker than you are now.  I mean, how fast exactly do you think you were moving today?" 

"I dunno, pretty fast." Beni mumbled, grabbing ahold of a supporting beam and dangling dangerously over the edge.

"I would say around 240 or so kilometers per hour, but I only know that because I was going about 220 and you guys were easily catching up with me." I looked off into the distance, "But that's just it, do you see the problem?" 

"Uhhhhhh, no?" Benitsubasa replied and Haihane looked thoughtful. However I didn't wait and instead explained. 

"You should be more than twice as fast as me. Stronger too. But all your movements and maximums are too similar to mine, to what I'm capable of. Especially now that you're stronger. I just want you to get used to moving with explosive force. 100%, right off the bat, I want you to destroy whatever you're up against." 

"Hell yeah!" Beni cheered and Haihane managed to smile at the thought of extreme violence. 

"We will train all that later, but for now, how about we play a little game of tag?" 

"Tag?" Haihane quizzed and once again I just had to shake my head at the absolute butchering of their childhoods perpetuated on them by MBI.

But still we had to look on the bright side.

'Oh, this is gonna be fun.'

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Nearrreer faarrrrrrrr, whereeverrrrr you burp are!" The slurred words of an off kilter rendition of the classic Canadian song polluted the otherwise peaceful rooftops in an industrial section of Shinto Teito that was home to one of the largest producers of branded potato crisps in the entire city. An ancient boombox blasted the aged tune, but even that noise couldn't drown out the awful racket that the criminally off-key singer was producing. "Onnccee more, nah, nah, na, naaaahhh dooorrr!" 

"Suzuki-sama! That's her!" A junior warehouse associate with keen eyes pointed at a dark spot on the roof and yelled, directing the older man's eyes toward the origin point of horrendous din. 

Suzuki Tadao had been a shift manager of "Yum Tasty Incorporated" for the past ten years and in all that time he had never seen such a commotion! It had all started thirty minutes ago when the production crew had reported the sounds of a voice coming from the roof. It had been large enough of a disturbance that work had temporarily been halted, at least until the source could be located.

Now that he was looking, he could just barely make out the shape of a woman, laying flat on her back along the edge of the factory warehouse's roof. 

"Tadao-san, what do we do? Is she going to jump?" One of his longtime foremen questioned, eyeing the clearly unwell woman with blatant nervousness. 

"It will be alright, back everyone up and notify the police. As the senior here, it is my duty to deal with these sorts of problems." The venerable manager placed a comforting hand on his subordinate's shoulder. 

"Hai! Uh, good luck." His junior muttered, holding his arms out and moving the curious gaggle of workers back. "Come now people, please give the manager space! He is going to try and resolve the situation!" 

Tadao coughed into his fist, grateful that the probably suicidal woman hadn't made good on her implied threat yet. From the sounds of her voice, she was very, very drunk. 'It would be problematic for the company if she killed herself here, I must convince her to go somewhere else!' This were the thoughts going through the middle aged man's balding pate as he approached the building, the horrible singing still coming unabated from overhead. 

"Love was when I punched youuuuu, one true times I held yaaaaaa!" He cringed. If anything the singing had gotten worse! And the obnoxious woman showed no signs of letting up anytime soon.The manager cleared his throat and shouted.

"Hello! Can you hear me up there? Miss, excuse me, Miss!" He tried and evidently succeeded in getting the jumper to at least shut the music off. The warbling accompanying cacophony also ended with a squawk.

"Oh, I'm so, so, shorry oji-san!" A mop of brown hair appeared over the edge of the building, positioned such that Tadao could tell the woman was lying parallel to the very edge of the roof. Very dangerous. Even more so, because she was very, very obviously drunk. Sloppily so. "I'm just a widdle broken heart, you know?" 

No he didn't, but with her two stories up and about to become an unflattering article in the local newspaper, he had other priorities than remarking on her inane nonsense. 

"Young lady, why don't you come down here and get away from the ledge. I know that it might seem like this is the only way but I assure you there are better places to make an inconvenience of yourself." The woman seemed to take offense of that, shuffling even more of her body into view, a ridiculously large bottle of sake clutched in a hand dangling down off the edge. "Please! This is place of business!" He implored and she shifted further rolling over onto her front, two massive mammaries slipping off the roof and hanging obscenely, one popping completely free of the loose silky dress that only just barely covered her modesty.

Mr. Suzuki covered his eyes in shame, but the sound of a phone camera going off from within the crowd of assembled workers meant not everyone shared his gentlemanly virtues. 

"Holy hell, she must be a gravure model!"
"What could be so bad in her life?" 
"Damn, out of all the places she picked its here!" 
"Well, this is going online." 

The woman scrunched her brow at the uncouth comments, apparently having heard them despite being over 3 stories up. 

"Oh, helloooooo!" She waved, completely oblivious or uncaring to her indecent state. She excitedly waved the oversized bottle of sake at the crowd of gawking workers, which caused her dangling tits to jiggle. "Any of you fine, fine, young men down there happen to be Ashikabi who've come to sweep me off my feet?" 

Nobody had a response to that.

"Oh love! Has fate abandoned me!" The crazy drunk made a sweeping motion with her arms and flopped back over onto her back, much to the disappointment of the crowd. The movement also dislodged a pile of empty snack bags that she had been apparently laying on top of. The colorful mess of litter swirled in the breeze and landed around his feet. 

'A drunk and a thief!' He was outraged, kicking the snack bag of "Yum Tasty Tiger Cheese Wheels" off of his polished leather shoes. "This insult has gone on long enough!" He shook his fist in righteous anger! Not that he actually knew if she had stolen their product, but its didn't take a genius to put two and two together and get a licentious lewd lass! "Now listen here, you, you, you drunk! I am going to call the police and they will be very stern with you! So I want you to please leave this instant!" 

The insolent lush drank deeply from the comically large sake bottle before letting it hang over the side again. "Ohhhh, jiji is mad? Okay, I'll, I'll go, but furst-" the young woman sat up and suddenly held her hands to her face, cheeks bulging cartoonishly, but ultimately she failed to prevent the unfortunate events that followed. Like a geyser, gallons of sake and about a few pounds of partially masticated cheesy wheels were projectile vomited in a rather impressive arc off the roof and towards the ground below.

Suzuki Tadao, aged 56 years, tried desperately to move out of the way of the foul barrage, failing utterly as the rancid spray ended up coating the back of his head and shoulders, utterly ruining his suit. And his wife had just had it out for dry cleaning! 

Up above the woman wiped her mouth with the back of her hand, revealing a face of utter mortification. She staggered to her feet, no doubt feeling the pervasive silence fall after the crowd witnessed the disgusting act. "I, I, have to go...." She took one step, then two, teetering on the edge of the building. 

"No! Wait!" Despite still being covered shamefully in the woman's refuse, Tadao still instinctively called out to her to prevent what he thought was her a final act, a cry echoed by several more in the crowd. The beautiful woman hesitated, wobbled forward and backwards, looking like she was going to say something. Her final words perhaps.

"BOOOM!" For the a fraction of a second, Tadao thought he saw a blur of pink and yellow appear about 20 feet away from the red-faced beauty. The mighty impact buckled the metal roof of the warehouse, the entire building shaking under the sheer force of the event. Then just as quickly as it appeared, it was gone, only to be followed by another thunderous smash. The second one was white and grey, but just as fast and the assembled crowd jumped back, startled by the awful noise. 

"Wooaaaaahh!" The woman who had been the center of attention moments prior toppled forward as she cried and Mr. Suzuki shook himself out of his stupor just enough to reach out in shock as the poor, yet disgusting, wretch, fell to her death. 

'Oh I can't watch!' He covered his eyes, only to pull them away when he realized his face was still covered in puke. 

"I'm shorry about the mess ojii-san." Tadao looked up and clutched his chest, his heart still reeling in shock. The young woman, who he had expected to be paste on the cement by this point, was floating, FLOATING, in front of him, seemingly suspended in mid-air by, well, nothing! She leaned forward pecked him on the balding forehead, her lips somehow missing the mess she had made. Despite everything, he was entranced by her unearthly beauty! Unaware of it before, he could now not see anything else. He hardly even noticed when she ascended in a blast of air, the empty chip bags flying everywhere as a gust of wind announced her departure.

The crowd behind him went crazy, the sounds of phone cameras a steady staccato as they reacted to the impossible situation. 

For Suzuki Tadao however, he could think of nothing else but those magnificent eyes. That night he would go on to make love to his wife for the first time in years, tragically dying of a heart attack mid coitus and sending his wife into the mental hospital! Strangely enough though, he had also miraculously managed to impregnate her before his untimely death, despite being told for years that he was infertile and that was an impossibility! A true miracle, the perplexed Doctors would say, but in his final moments of bliss, he knew the truth. 

It had been those wonderful eyes that had driven him over the edge, that had pushed him to the brink and shown him what it was like to truly live! 

The same eyes that now searched fiercely for something that should not be happening, could not be happening. At least not yet. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

Sekirei-03 let the air currents pull her forward as she struggled to keep up with the quickly disappearing specks in the distance. 

'Sekirei? Now? And fighting?' Her mind attempted to reconcile the strangeness of it all as it also vainly struggled to purify the ungodly amount of toxic liquid she had consumed. 'Well, I did upchuck a lot of it at least.' Kazehana colored at the shameful recollection. 

Not one of her finest moments. She was racking up quite the collection of those lately. 

She had been completely taken unaware when those two had appeared. Her enhanced perception had allowed her to undoubtedly take in more details than those on the ground had, but they were still mostly a blur. Young women, one with pink hair and the other with white. She hadn't recognized them, outside of a faint memory of seeing a pair similar tagging behind Karasuba, dressed in black. 

Which was concerning enough. Whatever the newest incarnation of the Disciplinary was up to, it was worth keeping an eye on. She hadn't even been aware they were in the city!

'And how...' The question died on her lips as the two distant figures kicked it up a notch. One was slightly behind the other, but in an instant they just vanished, one moment they were passing over a series of power lines and when they touched the street, poof!. "That's not possible." She hadn't seen that sorts of speed since she had last seen Miya in action all those years ago, or maybe Karasuba. She slowed to a stop, hovering in place. There was no way she would be able to catch them now, not at the speeds they were moving. "Maybe without the head start." She lamely excused herself before remembering something more important. "Oh, the bottle..." Kazehana searched pointlessly for her spiritual medicine, but it was nowhere to be found.  Crestfallen, the Sekirei of Wind began to fly back towards the center of the city. There was an apartment, furnished by a kindly older man who was more than happy to provide housing for a down on her luck "artist". Plus she had more booze squirreled away for just such an emergency. She had already burned through the kind "donation" left to her by the big guy. 

In the end it she decided it wasn't really her problem.

Life would go on and the winds of fate would bring her wherever its capricious and unpredictable nature decided. 

Better to just relax. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

I activated Encouraging Shout, watching as Beni and Hane-chan exploded into movement. Quickly, I had discovered that I stood no chance whatsoever in evading my flock's talons. Despite leveling up Double Jump to level 4, which allowed for four separate movements, it wasn't nearly enough.

I did discover that I could use Killer Queen to throw myself! Which was freakin' useful as hell. Hell I could even "fly", materializing and dematerializing my stand and having it toss me upwards. Of course it was cheese. But I didn't care, just that it worked. 

'I wonder if standing on KQ counts as touching ground?' I mused, sewing the wide piece of tarp I had to another adjoining piece. I was sitting on a massive water reservoir on the outskirts of the city, probably a part of some treatment plant. Since I realized that myself personally playing tag with the girls was a waste of energy, I had instead instructed them to compete against each other. The winner of which would be the one who was not "it" by the time I finished what I was working on. 

What exactly would they win? Well I hadn't worked that out yet. 

Even though I couldn't see the pair, I wasn't too worried. After all I could still "feel" them, the general direction and intensity telling me that they were still around. Their feelings were pretty breathtaking to behold as well. Unbridled joy as they soared through the sky at the apex of a jump, excitement when one neared their objective, the fear and concentration blossoming into self satisfaction as they wove through hundreds of obstacles at breakneck speeds.

Basically my sekirei were having fun. Fun that I would add to by randomly spamming my Encouraging Shout job skill, increasing their speed and dexterity at will. 

Although, I had begun to appreciate why the original Ashikabi kept the sekirei around. 

'108 biological killing machines, all networked together to a centralized command structure and deadly enough on their own to beat most conventional militaries that I could imagine.' There were specialized units as well, all that could theoretically accomplish different tasks. Combine that with the unknown capabilities of their ship and technology, they would definitely be a powerful asset in any colonization or war fleet. 'But then why give them free will?' That was always a question I had, but one that I knew probably was beyond me to answer. 

Either way. Sekirei were meant to fly, undoubtedly.  I idly thought of their "wings". 'So much I don't understand.' I finished with the section of tarp I was working on and moved onto the next one. 

An hour later and I set down the can of spray paint, my task complete. 

"Skill Up! Crafting" I wiped some imaginary sweat from my brow and looked over my creation. 'It'll have to do.' I thought and pulled out my phone, selecting 'Beni-chan' from my list of contacts. 

Ringing, ringing, ringing. Straight to voicemail. 

I sighed and dialed Haihane instead. 

"..." The call connected, but the only thing I could hear was the rushing of air. 

"Uh, Haihane, are you there?" I asked and immediately my stoic sekirei replied. 

"Yes." She didn't offer anything else and the sounds of rushing wind only picked up speed. 

"You're usually supposed to say hello ya know." I scolded, but there was only silence again for a moment, followed by, 

"Yes." I heard someone shouting in the background and the sound of glass breaking. 

"So, who's it right now?" I casually asked and again there was the sound of breaking glass and another shout, this time the originator of which definitely was my more boisterous companion. 

"Me." She ground out and I could hear the high pitched giggle of Benitsubasa in the background as the bigger girl no doubt attempted to reach her. 

"Well, I'm done, so I'll send you my address. Rendezvous here. Do you know how to use the Map function on your phone." 

"Fine." The call disconnected, obviously she was pissed that she had lost the game. I shot both of them my address, on an encrypted chat app, along with a another chat saying "click here". 

It must of worked because not ten minutes later-

"Monkey!" With an exuberant cry a mass of pink and yellow energy slammed into me, descending from on high like a Valkyrie of old. I didn't even get the chance to try and catch her. Only time to activate Entrenchment. I let out an audible oof, my stamina bar dropping about a sixteenth as the sekirei shaped missile slammed into my chest. I buckled, but still managed to remain on my feet. "Guess who won!" She bragged, ignoring any potentially fatal injuries she might of caused. 

"You know, if I was a normal Ashikabi, you probably would've killed me just then." I muttered, setting her down. 

"Psh well, you're not so, hey!" She gripped my arms, "I won! The white head couldn't touch me at all!" 

"She hid in a clothing store." Haihane announced as she gracefully landed with a roll. "I didn't know which clothing rack she was under so I had to search each one." The white haired girl did not sound amused. "There were....damages." 

"She did win though, so I guess that's that." I rubbed my face with my hand, the other still holding onto Benitsubasa with a firm grip. "Well I hope you at least remember where the store was, so we can fix it." I maybe have decided to live freely but that was no excuse for wanton property damage. Beni-chan looked at me dumbly. 

"Uhhhhh." I shook my head and looked to Haihane who just shrugged. 

"It was not too severe." 

"Well great." I let go of Benitsubasa, who was still looking at me expectantly. 

"Well?" She asked of me. 

"Well what?" 

"Well what! I won! What do I get Monkey-baka!" Benitsubasa stomped her foot and snorted. 

"Yeah, about that. I uh," I searched my pockets fruitlessly. I had been thinking we would be going over the plan for tonight, but suddenly THIS was an issue apparently. "Um, how about, a, a," Benitsubasa raised an eyebrow at me and Haihane shook her head in disappointment. 'Seriously!? You two!' My eyes flickered from object to object, looking for an out. I saw an advertisement for a local sukiyaki chain. "Dinner, with me. Alone." Should of been obvious really. 

"Ooo! Yes, yes, yes!" She jumped up and down excitedly, "I want French fries and wasabi and fish and curry and pork katsu and raisens and chicken and...." The pink haired gremlin lowered a finger as she named every potential menu item. 

"How about I pick, a nice one, because it's what a gentleman would do." I reassured her with a look that I wasn't having on over on her and she let out a delighted squeal, grabbing onto my arm and intertwining it with hers. 

"Hear that rock face? We're going to a 'fancy' restaurant, because that's what a elegant lady like me deserves!" Despite being shorter than the other by a good eight centimeters, somehow Benitsubasa still managed to look down her nose at the other girl. 

"Ashikabi-sama, have you finished your preparations?" Haihane ignored her partner's arrogant preening and looked to me instead. As predictable as the rising sun, the Red Sekirei growled at the snub. However we both managed to ignore her and move the conversation in a more productive direction. 

"I have." I gestured at the tarp that was still laid oout on the top of the tank. "More importantly, do you think you are more comfortable with knowing your limits after this exercise?" 

"Hai, Ashikabi-sama. I believe we have." 

"Deadly, locked and loaded!" Benitsubasa flexed her free arm and kissed the little bulging bicep. She quickly adopted a more pensive look. "I always wanted to go all out, but it's kind of scary. Sometimes I'm moving faster than I can see." She looked at me, "Does that make sense?" I nodded, I did understand.

"I think it's because your perception scores are lagging behind your Dexterity and strength. Basically your body is stronger than your mind at this point." I explained and Beni grabbed at my hand. 

"Is that dangerous?" She anxiously asked. 

"No, I don't think so, but it's not exactly the best. When you level up, we'll have to drop some points in PER and maybe INT to help you stay balanced." 

"Ahh okay, but like I'll let you do all that numbers and stuff. Not my thing." She elaborated, dropping my arm and picking up the rope that I had tied to the corner of the tarp. "So what's all this?" 

"That my sweet, is how were gonna piss on Minaka-teme's parade." I sniggered malevolently rubbing my hands together with glee 

"Ew." Benitsubasa dropped the rope like it was a Fukushima football and brushed her hands on her coveralls. I rolled my eyes.

"Not literally, now come here, this is what we're gonna do."

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"sexyfboi28: watch https://trutube.com/b23a3fy62 @ 18:00"

Matsu nearly dropped her glasses when she read the message that Nobe-san had sent her. She had been in the shower and hadn't heard it arrive fifteen minutes ago. It was actually a little earlier than the time that he had suggested, but that obviously didn't matter. Dropping her towel carelessly she hastily typed out her warning that she had wanted to reiterate from last night. However it apparently would fall on deaf ears as he had not been active in the chat since he had posted the link. 

Which led to a scheduled live stream that was slated to start 20 minutes from now. Roughly 18:00. 

'What the heck are you up to Nobe-san?' The redheaded bombshell questioned as she slipped an over-sized shirt over her head, pulling her carefully maintained braids through it. 'I'm not worth this, whatever it is....' She thought dourly, settling back into her computer chair after slipping into a pair of lacy panties. 

"Hey Senpai, just letting you know, I'm heading out, do ya' want anything?" Uzume's voice called from the doorway. Matsu swiveled around to regard the taller woman in question. 

"No. I'm fine, have fun." She quickly swiveled away, a little too quickly as Uzume grabbed her chair from behind, stopping her spin. 

"Senpai, this is about that Ashikabi right?" The younger sekirei grabbed Matsu's shoulder's from behind. Matsu showed her the latest post. Uzume chewed her lip for a second before shrugging. "Ok, so what is he going to profess his love or something? That's not too bad right?" 

"He's not that lame." Sekirei-02 snorted derisively before she rolled her shoulders. "Honestly I have no idea what he's going to do, but I just can't stand the thought of someone getting hurt, for, for me!"

"Matsu-senpai, enough with that talk, seriously. He was right about one thing, what he does is not on you!" The brown haired girl let go of her shoulders and turned to leave. "Who knows, if he's crazy enough to get your attention, man, I can't wait to see what he does!" She waggled her finger at her, "Tell me all about it, Kay? Ok see ya!" And with that she was gone. 

Matsu sighed and looked at the clock, 17:52. '8 minutes to go...' She fiddled with her mouse, moving around the browser tabs she had open. 'What is he going to do?' The anticipation was killing her! She set her monitor to screen record, but struck by a sudden thought, she quickly created a post on her favorite image board.  

"Video Documentation Request" she titled her post, putting the hyperlink for the live stream. 

'At least if he is killed, then someone.' She tugged on her braid until it hurt. 'At least someone else will know. See what I did.' 

It didn't take long for the first posts to appear. 

"wtf is this?" 
"i ain't clickin' dat shit nigga"
A picture of a cat licking a Popsicle, subtitled "Oh, cool."
"MissRed, you ask, I answer!" 
"you know the drill post tits or gtfo"

Matsu smiled a little reading the replies. She typed, hesitantly at first but then with confidence. "Please watch and archive stream, it is important."

"tf u going pay?" 
"Of course!" 
"uwu! first nude leaks of missRed, you're a trap aren't ya?"
"saved!" 
"stream is blank wtf?"

Matsu opened the video stream, noting the time as 17:58. The live stream still hadn't begun, but the live chat was active. 

"what is this?" 
"here 4 MissRed nudes?" 
"this had better be fulla alien autopsy vid or imma be pissed" and on and on. 

A minute to go and over 20 people were queued for the live stream. The chat was moving along at a steady pace, with speculations, shit posting, and just general internet bantz. 

18:01

"late and gay"
"LATE!"
"it's 1am and I am watching nothing. is this real?"

Matsu didn't say anything, still waiting with bated breath. 'Come on Nobe-san.' She thought, but quickly felt shame for doing so. 

At 18:02, the live stream started, the feed starting showing what appeared to be the side of a typical Shinto Teito street. 

"is this a vlog?"
"oh, shit happening! we have happening!"

"Hey Matsu, I know you don't trust me bu- wait, who the fuck are all you guys in the chat?" Nobe-san's voice was filled with confusion and for a second she thought that she had messed up, but in the end he just rolled on, "Fine, fuck it, whatever. Hi other people, today I'm going to fuck with MBI and call out their bullshit corporate takeover of this city!" The camera shifted, no longer looking at the side of the street, but instead looking down it. Immediately Matsu recognized the MBI headquarters in the background, Teito Tower looming menacingly over the rest of the city. It was probably a little over a mile away from where Nobe-san currently sat. The camera view shifted again, this time dipping down and showing a pair of red glove clad hands manipulate the controls of a motorbike. Matsu watched as one hand twisted a key, lighting up the central instrument cluster, while the other pressed the engine start. 

With a rumbling roar, the engine screamed to life and the hand twisted the throttle, which caused the machine to scream even louder. The camera, which must of been affixed to Nobe-san's helmet, turned to face behind him, where a helmeted person sat, clutching the handles on the motorcycle's rear seat and as a result puffing out her larger than average chest. She was dressed in a black sweater, dark leather pants and leather boots.

"You ready?" Nobe-san's voice yelled and the woman, Matsu assumed it was one of the man's sekirei, nodded. 

"Alright, let's fucking do this." The motorcycle rocketed forward as the operator twisted the accelerator back. Not lacking in production value, a slick EDM track began to play, the pulsing beats fitting in pretty well with the action as the motorcycle sped through the busy evening Shinto Teito streets. 

Matsu found herself on the edge of her seat, literally and figuratively. A feeling the rest of the audience was apparently getting down with as well. 

"rofl"
"holee shit this guy is crazy is that TT?" 
"recording"
"rare, death by MBI, but he's got friends?"
"what kind of motorcycle is that?"
"crazy crazy crazy"
"damn that chick is hot tho"
"Too bad she's gonna get killed too"
"agreed hot ones are always fucking nuts"

The speeding vehicle wove through the streets recklessly, threading between cars, jumping up on the sidewalk and even into oncoming traffic. 

'He's insane!' Matsu held her hands over her mouth. She had watched plenty of gore films involving motor vehicle accidents and was well familiarized with what would happen if he struck something at the speeds he was going.

Teito Tower grew larger and larger as Nobe-san picked up speed, the camera panning up to the very top of the spire as the rider raised their head. Before snapping it back down. The mad race had brought him to the large plaza that lay in front of the MBI headquarters. Even at this hour in the evening there was a line of cars coming and going through the security checkpoint that controlled access to the plaza. 

Nobe-san didn't even slow down. 

The madman threaded his bike between the line of waiting cars until he was a dozen meters away from the gate. Up ahead, Matsu could see uniformed MBI troops run towards the speeding motorbike, yelling for it to stop and drawing their weapons. 
 
Mere meters away from the gate, the camera was yanked up and suddenly the front tire of the bike was visible as it reared into the air, passing through the tiny gap between the vehicle that was currently passing through and the exterior wall of the guard post. In a flash they were through, a few gunshots echoing out behind them as they continued toward the building. As they entered the plaza proper the bike swerved to the side, avoiding the parking garages and heading for the main entrance. 

Passing between two poles of an anti vehicle barrier the bike slowly coasted to a halt as the person riding it braked. The reason for which became apparent when suddenly bright flashing red and blue lights lit up the whole courtyard as a trio of black painted military style HMMWVs screeched to a stop on either side of the large water feature that sat in front of the main entrance to Teito Tower. No sooner had the three vehicles stopped than the black clad soldiers inside dismounted, quickly dispersing and taking cover behind whatever was available. 

"You are are trespassing on MBI property, shut the vehicle off and put your hands your heads!" A mechanically enhanced voice called over one of the vehicles PA systems. 

The Bike skid to the side with a screech of tires as it came to a halt.

"Here's one for ya' pigs!" Nobe-san mocked, flipping the soldiers the bird before dropping down and putting the motorcycle between him and the MBI forces. He turned to his black clad rider who had also hid behind the bike and waggled his finger at her. 

"I'll take left, you take right." Nobe-san's hands gestured, ignoring the threatening mesage the cops were playing again to try compel their surrender. "Try to stay non-lethal, okay?" The mute rider nodded her head again and turned to face the bike. Matsu stretched out her technopathic powers, viewing the scene from a different angle, that of a public security camera that faced away from the Tower's entrance. 

"this is so fake"
"what is this some hollywood shit?" 
"nonlethal? lame"

The commentators were quick to voice their doubts but she knew better. 

"It's not fake." Matsu chewed on her thumbnail, 'But what if this was all planned-" 

The tiny petite leather wearing girl grabbed the motorcycle and stood, taking the entire 250kg vehicle with her like it weighed as much a handbag. With a burst of movement she dashed forward, bringing her mobile cover forward and rushing towards the MBI forces on the left. But she didn't see the impact, only heard it over the camera's mic, as the camera operator made a mad dash of his own, suddenly with a full sized assault rifle in hand, spraying at the dismounted troops around the tactical vehicle. 

'No, not spraying.' Matsu's perceptive senses picked out the methodical way that Nobe-san transitioned from one target to the next, his helmet mounted camera moving with precision and grace. He took one of the MBI goons in the helmet as he peaked out of cover over the hood of the vehicle, knocking him on his ass, before stitching the rounds to driver, blowing out a knee and shredding his trigger hand. Somebody screamed and there was a horrible smashing noise as something metallic on metal collided, the camera tilting over for a split second revealing that the woman had smashed the motorcycle into the first HMMWV with impossible force, knocking away the soldiers around it like bowling pins and throwing the heavy vehicle aside like it was a toy. More gun shots sounded out, and the camera quickly snapped back, just in time for Nobe-san to duck behind the edge of the fountain, bullets taking chunks out of concrete as they impacted above his head. They were clearly aiming to kill. 

'There is no way to do that safely.' Matsu knew at that moment that this was real and that Nobe Sogen had been telling her the truth. Nobody would risk their life so recklessly just to sell a lie. Matsu watched him with her mouth open as the Ashikabi fired his rifle above his head blindly, before launching himself in a flying dive out of cover, firing the entire way. The camera mounted on his helmet showcased his unerring accuracy, as even as he was flying through the air his rounds forced the two men left to duck back behind cover, one behind the open rear passenger side door and the other behind the trunk. Keeping his finger depressed, the camera man closed the distance with a jump and leaped into the air, delivering a flying single front kick to the open door the first soldier was standing behind. The heavy up armored portal swung close with extreme force and the body armor wearing goon screamed horribly as his legs were crushed behind the heavy metal His weapon fired randomly off into nothing and a gloved hand reached out and yanked the weapon out of his hand, before immediately dropping to ground level and shooting out the feet of the one that had been hiding behind the vehicle. 

As he toppled, the camera swung again and the wearer leaped nimbly up on top of the HMMWV before dropping behind it and landing on top of the man who's feet he had just mangled. A kick to the jaw silenced his mewling, though plenty of that was coming from the other three brutalized former occupants. 

Nobe-san looked across the fountain, just in time for the camera to catch the helmet clad woman flip the second vehicle up onto its side, up and over. Rolling with a crunch of metal, the super human figure kicked the utility vehicle's roof with a front kick that sent it off spinning, the screams of its crew audible even over the pounding electronic beats.

The woman looked across the fountain at the camera man and gave him a nod, unaware of the MBI trooper that had crawled out from under the wreckage of the first vehicle she had smashed and just now managed to get into a crouched firing position with his weapon raised. 

The camera recorded the precision fire from her ally's weapon that shattered the MBI grunt's own rifle and disintegrated a huge chunk of bicep.  The girl turned quickly and kicked him under the chin, knocking him out. 

"Pay attention!" Nobe-san admonished and the other gave thumbs up then gestured ahead. The camera operator's head turned back to the entrance of MBI where a large six wheeled armored personnel carrier whipped around the corner of the building and began to speed towards the duo. 

Matsu's breath hitched. Unlike the humvees earlier, this one was armed. A thick gun barrel swiveled towards the wreckage of the two totaled vehicles across the fountain. The girl in the dark clothes started forward but it was unnecessary. 

"...take it." Nobe-san's voice sounded muffled and Matsu realized he must be speaking into a radio. The Ashikabi candidate sprinted to the right, keeping the armored vehicle in his sights as it slowed to a stop and began to fire. Apparently uncaring of friendly fire, the heavy machine gun peppered the armor of the upturned Humvee, blowing parts of the plates off the top.  It was only when the APC was back in focus that something slammed into the machine's engine compartment from a high angle, a burst of pink energy expanding from a circular point and suddenly turning into a giant ball of whirling destructive force, shredding the heavy armored prow like paper maiche. The heavy armor almost melted away and the engine underneath exploded, sending bits and pieces of the diesel power-plant flying everywhere. In fact, so powerful was the explosion, that the entire front section of the APC fell forward as it's front axle was displaced.  The turret however, was still turning and apparently operational. 

"am i really seeing this? this has to be fake right?"
"cgi?'
"what is this? new game looks badass"

The turret spat more rounds, this time in the direction of the camera and Matsu jumped despite herself. But they were panicked, they ended up not coming anywhere near the man in question. It also turned out to be the weapon's final action as the motorcycle helmet wearing woman alighted on top of the war machine and ripped the machine gun right out of its cradle. The remote control turret continued to spin, but without the key component it was useless. 

"OI! Here!" The hand under the camera beckoned and the woman tossed the hijacked machine gun to the side and hopped down off the top of the vehicle. Making her way over to where he was standing, she was joined by a smaller person wearing a red sweatshirt with the kanji for " Doki Doki Bomb" written in pink letters and a yellow bandana pulled up over the bottom of her face. 

Though from the shock of bright pink hair sticking out of her hoodie, it was painfully obvious as to who that was. 

'Oh great. The little rude bitch.' Matsu frowned.

"Did ya see me monkey? I was all like boom, smash!" The pinkette cackled, but quickly looked around, noting there was no more resistance to be had, "Man, though if this is it I'm gonna be pissed!" Despite that the shorter of the two still sounded exhilarated and the man wearing the camera gave her a high five. 

"Hell yah B-chan! Killer moves!" He turned to the hoodie clad girl and did the same, though she was much slower to respond. "Alright, let's do it. Yeah, grab, grab the end. Ok, that- Shit!" The camera hadn't caught what the three were doing, but that curse came immediately after the sound of a series of gunshots. "Ok got it? Go! Go! Go!" Nobe-san ordered, before the camera twisted back around to where they had just come from. It seemed that the guards from the checkpoint had finally moved up and a few were half hardheartedly firing their rifles from behind the anti-vehicle barrier. Sogen almost casually returned fire. His rounds were much more focused and in an almost unnatural way, each one seemed to find its way into an unprotected limb or armor joint. 

By now, Matsu also noticed that he was avoiding kill shots intentionally. She didn't know what to make of that. It's not like some of those wouldn't die anyways of blood loss. 

Was she the one responsible for this? He thought he had to do this to prove his loyalty? All those poor soldiers, all those families, they would undoubtedly be crippled for life. But they were trying to kill him, but he had started the fight by showing up. Matsu felt her breath hitch as new connections were made, similar memories being drug back into the light from where they had laid long buried. 

'Oh Kami, it's happening again.' Matsu leaned forward and held her head. She didn't know what to think anymore but she couldn't stop thinking anyways! She took a breath, trying to center herself. 

She peeped up, the sound of gunfire falling quiet. Nobe-san looked away from the wriggling wounded guards and back towards the building. 

The man's two sekirei were running at a quick pace, one on either side of the fountain. Between them something dragged on the ground like a giant black carpet, or a huge canvas! Momentarily distracted, the Sekirei of Wisdom observed the two closely, noting the metal spikes they held in their inside hands. 

When they were a dozen or so meters from the glass surface of the building the two alien women jumped, sailing impossibly high off the ground, almost three stories. In decent enough synchronization, the two hit the building at around the same time and slammed those metal spikes through the tempered glass exterior. Task completed, they pushed off the building and flipped over backwards, landing more or less in the same area back by Nobe-san's side. It was an impressive display and of course well beyond anything a human could remotely consider feasible. 

However it wasn't the acrobatics or the the casual violence that demanded her attention, but rather the message scrawled on the banner that was revealed as it slowly unfolded itself. 

"BUTCHER THE FASCIST PIG MINAKA! RISE UP TOKYO!" It was a bold message, but she had only eyes for the one underneath it. 
"P.S. I LOVE YOU MATSU! BE MY SEKIREI?" 

"is this a proposal??"
"holy shit! this is real, scanner just lit up, SS is mobilizing all over the city!"
"so this is not a drill? Are these finally ETs red senpai would talk about?"
"BURN SHINTO TEITO! RISE TOKYO!"
"what is a sekirei"

Her eyes felt watery. She barely heard what he said next, but the stream cut off, so it was obvious he was waiting for her answer. 

"Ping!" The chatroom that had until now been idle was rendered active again.

"sexyfboi28: So, will you give me a chance?" 

A swirl of heady emotions blossomed in her already reeling mind, but Matsu found herself typing before she had even digested all of those crazy emotions.

"MissRed: That was crazy and reckless! You could of been killed!" 

The request for a video call came through and Matsu hit accept without fully thinking it through. 

"You're worth it Matsu." Sogen was looking directly at his camera, the background dark with tinkling bright lights. 

'He must be on a roof somewhere.' She idly thought

"Will you you be my sekirei?" He asked and she bowed her head in the face of his striking blue eyes, filled to the brim with conviction
 
"Nobe-san, you don't know me, know what I've done, what I am like." She looked at him, her glasses catching a ray of light and reflecting across the lenses. "I believe you think you know, what you told me, but-" 

"I know you have killed before as part of the Disciplinary Squad, I know you're an incorrigible pervert. I also know you despise MBI and how they treat your fellow sekirei. Most of all, I know that you just want to fill the emptiness and the pain inside your heart. I know you Matsu, there is no doubt. And like I said I will have you, if you just give yourself to me." His possessive tone sent a chill up her spine. 

"I will be your Sekirei." Matsu blushed as she gave in to whatever feeling was building inside her. A feeling of rightness. Not the reaction, but something else

'Is this what it feels like to be loved?' She wondered and that same feeling surged when the man on the other side of the glass beamed at her. Vaguely the Sekirei of Wisdom heard a knock at the front door, but chances ar .it was something Uzume ordered, so she paid it no mind, expecting Miya-sama to take care of it. 'Or to be wanted?' 

"You will be my wife." A new rush of heat reached her face as he casually dropped that banger, but it did get a reaction from the other girls off screen. 

"Wife? I'm the only wife here! Back of the line hag! Give me that so I can show her her place!" The webcam was jostled around as it was fought over, but eventually it settled back on her "Ashikabi-to-be's" annoyed expression. 

"As you can see we're all excited." He glared at the pink headed girl but turned to get back to business. "Thanks for inviting the whole image board, ya' known that this was supposed to be a private affair." He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow at her. 

"Wait I can explain!" The bespectacled sekirei guiltily waved her arms in front of her. "It's so that if things went bad, the information wouldn't be lost." 

"Uhuh, I guess I can forgive you maybe, if you ask for it in person...." He left the obvious invitation hanging. 

'Here goes nothing. Fate, right Uzume-chan?' Matsu typed the address to the inn into the chat box, her finger hesitating on send. Downstairs she could hear Miya speaking with someone. 'Guests?' Thinking of that, well, she figured she might as well get the warning our of the way, her finger moved away from the enter button. "I have to warn you though, where I'm staying, the owner is well, she's, um, look you do not want to tick her off." She gave Nobe-san a meaningful look, imploring even. "I figure you have a teensy weensy bit of a problem with authority, but I want you on your best behavior, promise? For your sake as well as my own." She added tht last part, well it was important to stress, especially since Miya would undoubtedly be in a foul mood. The argument downstairs hadn't stopped, and in fact it had only become more agitated. 'Seriously, what the hell is going on down there? A debt collector?' 

"Pinky promise!" He laughed and Matsu finally pressed enter on her keyboard, sending the Izumo House's address and revealing her location.

'No backing out now.' For a moment, Nobe-san spent time reading the address, no doubt putting it in his phone before he looked at her again. 'I never thought finding an Ashikabi would be so, business like.' She frowned, maybe there was a part of her that wanted to be swept off her feet. This wasn't exactly romantic... 'Who are you kidding moron! He just risked his life to tell you he loves you!' She lambasted herself, not even noticing that the other man was trying to ask her a question. "Oh, sorry Nobe-san, what was that?" She jumped when the sound of the disquiet argument downstairs was punctuated by the sound of something breaking. 

...all right if I come over now?" Nobe-san was saying, but Matsu didn't respond, placing her headset on the monitor and listening. All was quiet. But then a crash as a door in the back burst open, followed by the stomp of many booted feet. Matsu looked at the door to her attic vestibule in horror. There was no doubt in her mind about what was going on. 

She rushed back to her computer and allowed her mind to expand through the local security intranet. Immediately the scene of the street outside the Izumo inn was materialized in her minds eye as she used the security cameras to find out what was going on. Squad cars, APCs and even a few blacked out vans were blockading off the street outside. she switched around to different angles. They were obviously taking no chances. A veritable army had converged on her location! Obviously MBI was finally making a move, the threat of Miya's wrath apparently not enough to stay their hand any longer. Her eyes flicked to the wall next to the door and the little vent where she had hidden her precious burden. 

"Matsu! What's wrong?" Nobe-san's voice came over the head set and he leaned toward the camera, concern clearly shown on his face. Matsu grabbed the device off the desk.

"MBI is here, I have to-" Matsu was about to say something along the lines of 'get the fuck out of here.' Fear had consumed her mind, 'I don't want to be recycled! I don't want to be scrapped, not now, not when you've found me!' These thoughts ran in her head along with the words that came out of her mouth, but any plans she might of had on escaping were dashed when the floor under her shattered and a pair of massive yellow gloved hands emerged and grabbed her by the ankles!

"MATSU!" The headset blared in her ears before the cord was yanked down along with her, disconnecting with a snap. Her forced descent continued all the way to the ground floor where she was smashed down with bone shattering force. Her glasses went flying and the world became fuzzy and undefined as she was rendered almost blind. A massive hand gripped the back of head and dragged her down the hallway, unable to resist her captor with what limited strength she had available to her. 

Matsu screamed, kicked and scratched, but whomever had captured her was an unyielding force. The bright light of the inn's kitchen was the next thing she could make out as she was tossed unceremoniously onto the table, scattering the dishes and half prepared food that No. 1 had been working on all over the floor. 

"Scan her." A stern woman's voice commanded and Matsu's blood ran cold as she recognized it as belonging to the Sekirei Project Head Researcher and the Vice Director of M.B.I. A much smaller pair of hands, though just as strong, pushed her head down against the rough surface of the table and held something cold and smooth against the back of her neck. The device hummed for a second before beeping and being pulled away. A moment passed before an unfamiliar man spoke. 

"Sekirei-02 is still unwinged Hasashi-sensei." He announced and Matsu tried to rotate her head to face towards the direction of the voice. 

"Excellent. Search the house, the sensor grid reports that what we're looking for is still in the vicinity. Take care though, 10 is at the hospital, but 04 is still unaccounted for." Takami ordered and the blurry figure made a bowing motion before moving out of Matsu's sight. 

"It has been some time since we saw each other last, hasn't it No. 2?" The scientists tone was smug yet cold, there was no doubt that she had nothing but contempt for the sekirei runaway. 

"What did you do to Miya-sama!?" Matsu cried, uncaring of whatever grudge the frigid academic might of held against her. She was still scared, but also unbelieving, unbelieving that they had managed to get past the intimidating protector of the Izumo house. 

"Nothing of note, in fact why don't you ask her yourself?" Now that Matsu was no longer being constrained, she sat up groggily and faced her captor. She also noticed there was something different with the woman's voice, almost as if it was being digitally modulated. When she looked towards her, she vaguely recognized the blurry outline of Takami-sensei's gray hair, but there was something red and angled sharply around where the other woman's mouth would be. 

'A mask?' Matsu squinted, trying to make out the details. Meanwhile, the scientist raised a hand up to her mouth and spoke. 

"No. 1, hit her please." Before Matsu could even contemplate fully what was being said, a mechanical voice emanated from the mask, a second delayed. "Verah sa, tikitna wu, kree." 

The alien language tickled something in the back of her brain and instinctively she translated what had been said, much like the word "jinki" had popped into her mind the first time she had beheld that cursed gem.

Though she didn't have much time to think about it as a titanic blow smashed into her from above, the table cracking and splintering underneath her as she was once again slammed into the ground. Immediately she felt warm liquid begin to pool in her mouth, undoubtedly blood. This feeling, something had broken inside of her chest, but more worryingly, the energy coming from her core had become erratic and started to dim.. 

"It's always fascinated me how death works with your kind. So strong, yet so fragile. I know you can feel it in your core, whatever the energy that permeates your being, trying to keep yourself active. " Takami observed from the same position she had been in before. "You can come back from horrific injuries, or at least your bodies can. For a Level 1 and 2 deactivation, the body will kept alive, but what of the mind? I wonder, where will you go when you die Number 02?" 

Matsu rolled over on her back and stared at her attacker. She gasped, which in her current state was a painful event, as she saw who it was who had struck her so savagely. "Miya-sama, w-why?" She felt the massive pain of betrayal as she looked up to the blurry face of who she thought was a friend stared down at her blankly. The thin woman's light purple hair was a mess, having fallen out of her usual style and she stood stock still, having seemingly not having moved since she had followed the scientist's initial instruction. 

"You shouldn't blame her No. 2, she is merely responding to her programming correctly, for once." She mumbled the last part, seemingly miffed at the sekirei's previous behavior. "No. 1, bring her to me." Takami asked and the mask spat out that familiar alien language. Miya's body went rigid for a moment, receiving the orders, before surging forward and grabbing the redhead by her neck. Matsu tried to crawl away but she wasn't going anywhere fast and soon she was hoisted up and dangled in front of the scientist. 

"A level 3 termination though, now we both know there's no coming back from that. The destruction of a Sekirei core, that is a terrible thing. Such a waste of materials." Now that she was much closer, Matsu could see the stern look in the older woman's single uncovered eye, her mouth and lower face covered under a demonic looking mask. "I wonder, how much more damage from No. 1 could you weather before that happens? One strike? Two?" She reached up and held her chin. "Something to keep in mind." 

"Screw you!" Matsu tried to be brave, but her voice still wavered under the unrelenting strength of Miya's grip and the threat therein. 

"Hmm, yes, a suitably depraved response from a depraved individual. But I do not need civility from you No. 02. I only need information." Takami let her chin fall and stepped back, pressing a button on the side of the red demon visaged device. 

"No. 02, how did you learn about Minato?" She demanded and the mask translated seconds later. However, whatever compulsion the device allowed her to exercise over Miya didn't do anything to the defeated Sekirei of Wisdom. "Hmm, it appears Minaka's toy only works on the Pillar." She mused but Matsu was more concerned with the line of questioning. Which was not about the jinki!

"Minato-who?" Matsu answered, honestly perplexed. She searched her memories for anything that would give context to that question, to hint at what the Vice Director was getting at.

The grey haired woman's single eye narrowed as she stared at her for a long moment before grunting and turning away. 

"I suppose it doesn't matter." She walked over to the doorway and shouted outside. "Take No. 02 to the transport and stay with her." A chiming noise came back and a massive shape filled the door as her original attacker made their second appearance. Matsu boggled at the giant helmeted, yellow jumpsuit wearing Sekirei. A being undoubtedly a product of the infamous 'Section 0'. 

So distracted was she by the monster's appearance that she was taken completely unawares when something sharp and cold pierced her neck. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Takami pulling away a pneumatic syringe that she had used to inject her with something. 

"No. 1, you will guard the convoy, kill any who attempt to release the cargo." The mask translated and Miya turned and stalked out of the room.

Matsu panicked as she felt her limbs grow heavy, even as the pain radiating from her chest began to numb. Her eyes began to close and she struggled to keep them open, the powerful sedative going to work immediately. The redhead's mouth worked to beg to plead, to cry out, but her throat felt like jello.

"Sahashi-sensei! We have found the crystal!" A MBI trooper, holding a small box, jubliantly announced as he entered the room accompanied by a team of others. 

"Excellent. We will depart in ten minutes." She turned to the almost unconscious sekirei, "It would be a shame if we missed Mr. Nobe-san's arrival on the account of being too hasty." 

That was the last thing Matsu heard before she slipped into a deep chemically induced slumber, the feelings of failure and dread mixing equally and ushering her into a nightmare abyss. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

I was still reeling with indecision when my phone buzzed and I flipped it open. MBI had obviously captured Matsu and ruined my plans. Whether it was in retribution for what I had just done, or completely unrelated, I didn't know. 

Either way the photo that I had just received from an 'Unknown Sender' set my blood boiling anew. 

It was Matsu, obviously unconscious and obviously a prisoner, sitting in a metal compartment of some kind, strapped to a large gurney. There was no other information sent, except for an address, the same one Matsu had just given me a few minutes ago. 

"Ashikabi-sama, it is a trap." Haihane, having doffed her face covering motorcycle helmet dryly informed me. We were standing on a apartment building a few miles away from Teito Tower. In the distance I could still hear the sounds of police sirens and ambulances as they swarmed to the location like a swarm of bugs. The sun had most fallen below the horizon and the last few dying rays of daylight had yet to fade. 

At least this time we hadn't killed anyone. Amazingly enough. I knew because I hadn't received any XP notifications. Part of me took some pride in that too. 

"I know." I stated, running my hand through my messy helmet hair. It was obvious that that is what this was. It was probably the reason we hadn't ran into any of MBI's pet freaks while we were attacking their headquarters. 

"Well, that's basically an open invitation then! Let's bust some skulls!" Benitsubasa's bandanna was pulled down around her neck and she was obviously still feeling hot and bothered from being in combat. 

"We will, it's just, wasn't Miya being there supposed to stop this from happening?" I spoke more to myself than the girls, I don't think they knew the particulars of the "Monster of the North." 

"No. 1? Yeah she's like super strong!" Benitsubasa agreed adding on that she had been the leader of the first Disciplinary Squad. 

"Exactly, if MBI managed to get past her..." 

"Then we wouldn't be able to defeat them." Haihane finished for me and I nodded. 

"Heh? That's bullcrap Q-tip! We're stronger than ever and we have Monkey's weird super powers and stuff! We can take em', believe it!" Benitsubasa was almost hopping with excitement at the end, completely wrapped up by the possibility of going toe to toe with something that took down the "Strongest Sekirei", so I let the unintended 'Narutism' slide. 

"Maybe. They could of taken her by surprise," Haihane gave me a look that said 'Are your serious?', "Or she could of been convinced to give up Matsu willingly." 

"Perhaps." Haihane looked away thoughtfully, then turned towards the direction where I had indicated Izumo Inn to be in. "But it is your choice, Ashikabi-sama, we will fight for you no matter what." 

"Yeah!" Benitsubasa punched a glove clad fist in the air. Despite their certainty, I still chewed at my lip. I knew I wasn't the best at thinking under pressure, most of my plans I had come up with, I had the time to weigh the possible outcomes. The pros and cons. Here, I had no such luxury. Did I really need Matsu? Sure, she was a big part of my potential plans for tormenting Minaka into an early grave and winning the game in general. I didn't actually need her though. She didn't have any combat capabilities to speak of and there were always other options.

'But...' 

That pleading look she had given me, right before she had been captured. It had hit me.

It spoke to the noblest aspects of the human condition.

I wanted to help her. I needed to!

As well as the darkest. 

My greed. 

That old anger, that I had experienced throughout my life. My father, Benitsubasa and countless other times. 

'They took something from me.' 

A childish impulse that I had never fully outgrown, even as the old bastard I actually was. A sense of self entitlement. 

I had wanted Matsu since I had come to this world! Hell I had wanted her before then! 

'How dare they deny me that! Do they know who I am?' I was a goddamn fucking isekai gamer, reincarnated into this world with the power of the divine!

I knew I sounded insane. I felt insane.

I wasn't a hero. 

I didn't care.

'I'm going to do horrible things to get what I want.' My own words, paraphrased back to me spurred me on. 'I will win!'

"I want her back!" I growled and spun and turned towards my sekirei, hands held in fists at my side. I knew our bond was showing them all the ugly feelings I held inside, but they didn't flinch. 

"Well then, let's go!" Benitsubasa spoke like it was the only obvious option. Haihane just nodded her head. 

Without a thought I tossed my phone off the side of the building. They were tracking it obviously and I already knew where I needed to go. 

I didn't want them to see us coming, even if they knew we were. I wanted them to HURT! I grit my teeth and prepared to jump. 

"Let's go." 

Chapter Text

Let's Play: Sekirei

Chapter IX

No more than ten minutes had passed since we had began to sprint across the rooftops before I saw the flashing of red and blue lights. Aiming towards a nearby tenement I landed on the roof. I rolled to a stop and then dropped immediately to my belly. Two thumps told me that my alien companions hadn't overshot me. Which was good. In fact I was impressed that both had followed my lead and gone prone. 

"What the heck are we doing? They're right there Let's get em'!" Impatient as always, Benitsubasa demanded an answer for our momentary halt. 

"Reconnaissance." I informed her bluntly just prior to low crawling over to the edge of the roof. I stayed low to the ground, snaking under A/C boxes and over conduits. Though of course all of this sneaking around would be pointless if they had a drone overhead with thermals, but it was dark enough to protect against satellite observation and most security cameras would be at ground level. Though I'm sure girls were chipped, so maybe it was a lost cause. 

Whatever, at least I feel cool.' Though for the problem of thermals, I did have a trick up my sleeve. 

"Do you really think I know what that means?" Beni-chan turned to her side and rolled over a lump of spray insulation, dirtying her cute sweatshirt. 

"Means we'll check things out before we charge in like a angry honey badger. That may work out for you, but I'm not built as tough." I had managed to calm myself somewhat on the trip over, at least enough to realize that rushing in blindly was probably not the best idea available. Haihane was right, this was definitely a trap, but I couldn't afford to not take action.

A perverted maiden needed savin' and some heads needed stomping.

But still, it couldn't hurt to take this slow. 

Slow is smooth and smooth is fast. All that jazz. 

I reached the edge of the building's roof and surveyed the frantic scene taking place a little over 400 meters away. There were three rows of buildings between us and the target building and from my position and I made sure to keep a low profile. 

'Izumo Inn, finally.' I crowed, enjoying the small victory for what it was. I had been looking for the Izumo House for months and here it was!

Traditional Japanese Edo period construction, the two story inn was sandwiched between two run down multistory apartment complexes  A high wall ringed the entire property, but from our angle, I could see the infamous pond and tree combo in the back yard. I could also see about 10 black clad Security Service goons milling about the property in pairs with about double that, at least the ones who were visible, guarding the erected perimeter. M.B.I. had set up checkpoint at both ends of either parallel street, effectively cordoning off the entire scene. HMMWVs and up-armored M.R.A.P's armed with an array of heavy weapons completed the picture. On the street, right in front of the inn, a large armored semi-truck, a black painted U.S. Army HEMMT, was parked a long trailer coupled to the vehicles fifth wheel. On the trailer, a large metal box sat, long chains holding it secured in the middle of the bed. 

"Hmmm." I hummed, squinting my eyes against the glare of the vehicles strobes. 'I don't see Matsu, but it looks like they've already breached. Otherwise they wouldn't be so lackadaisical.' They looked relaxed, off their guard and happy with a job well done. 'Gonna have to punish them for that.'

"Ashikabi-sama." Haihane had settled in next to me and started tugging on my sleeve. When she saw that she had acquired my attention, she pointed towards the roof of the building to the front and to the left of our current perch. 

It was practically dark out, but even that being the case my sharp eyes made out the vaguely human shaped shadow that paced back and forth behind the raised low wall that lined the across the way structure. 

"Lookout, sniper." I murmured, glad that we appeared to not have been compromised yet. The obscured figure carried a long gun of some kind loosely in his grip. "They're waiting for us to arrive." I collapsed my frame as close to the roof at possible, while nervously turning a eye to the sky. The tar rooftop underneath me was still hot from the days sun to the point where my skin slightly burned. I chewed my lip.

It was time to put operation, "Pray to R.O.B. this Works" into effect. I materialized an infrared thermometer and took a quick temperature reading of the roof material a meter away from me. Once I got what I was looking for, I de-materialized the device and crawled away from the edge. Haihane retreated and looked at me with curiosity when I pulled out a two rolled bundle of different fabric like materials, duct tape and a car battery. 

My hands worked unnaturally quickly, the game automatically applying Skills: Crafting as I fabricated my Frankenstein like contraption. I unrolled the fist layer, then the second on top of it. I taped it together, letting a little bit of the shaggy top material hang overlap. Then it was just a matter of hooking up the 12 volt connector and twisting a dial. Within a five minutes I was done. 

I slid under the makeshift hide, and gestured for the others to follow. Soon all three of us were  snug as a bug in a rug. And hopefully in some kind of effective concealment. 

"Aren't we supposed to be on top of the blanket?" Benitsubasa quietly griped as I dragged the impromptu hide with me,slowly low crawling to the edge again. I raised my head and the overlapping section of camo-netting raised as well. 

"The heated blanket should more or less match the surrounding roof, so it should be harder for UAS and shit to pick us out." Or at least I hoped. High resolution thermal systems were mechanically almost impossible to beat. It really came down to fooling the human operator. 'Maybe we should just watch from inside the building? Fuck, I didn't even think of that.' I glanced around. There wasn't any doors or hatches that I could see. 'Dammit.' This close I didn't want to risk repositioning. 

"I was promised a fight." Benitsubasa whined and shifted under the blanket. Annoying as she was being, she was right, if we waited too long the roof would cool and this while thing would be pointless. I scanned the attacking force again. "Can I least have the yellow freak?" My eyes searched frantically and within a moment I found what she was talking about. 

One of the jumpsuit wearing M.B.I. experiment's was standing next to the trailer, having walked into view from behind a nearby building. 

'Observe'

"Name: Unit 231
Level: 92
Title: Freakish Experiment
Race: Artificial Genetically Modified Ssatho'Alopewii (Sekirei) - Winged
Age: 2
Karma: 0
Affiliation: M.B.I - Section Zero
Emotional State: Searching for Target
Threat Level: Very High
HP: 1 092 960
SP: 2 439 150
>STR: 105
>CON: 66
>STA: 73
>DEX: 101
>INT: 5
>WIS: 5
>PER: 80"

"Not yet. You'll get what you want Beni, it just might a be a bit longer." I swirled my finger in a circular motion and grinned at the pair. "We'll hit them when they're on the move. They'll be compromised and lazy." I didn't really have any worries about the mundane mercenaries and their weapons. We could deal with that. The specials too, if the numbers I had observed were something to go off of. 

No, it was whatever had beaten Sekirei 01 that was burning a hole in the back of my head. 

Well to be honest, getting hosed by machine guns probably wouldn't be too fun either. I counted the number of un-stabilized vehicle mounted gun platforms. It was a lot, which only made it more prudent to stick to the plan.

"Yup, we wait until they're on the move. Less crossfire if they're all in a line, can't shoot forward or they'll hit their buddies." I pulled the concept from my decent knowledge of low level military tactics.

"Tch, whatever, wake me up when something interesting happens." Benitsubasa let out a big yawn and rested her chin on her forearms, apparently uncaring of the rough gravel roof. I shook my head exasperatedly at the short-stack's antics, though a quick look at Haihane showed that she was at least taking this seriously. What a contrast the two were.

I shook my head in amusement and went back to observing the scene below. 

I might of been still pissed, but I wasn't stupid. 

Or at least I hoped I wasn't. 

'Guess we'll find out.' 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

Roughly translated into the human tongue it's designation was "Pillar". It originally had no true name of its own. Part reactor, part organic computer, it was built by the Ashikabi Prime artisans of the homeworld Soul Forger Guild to act as the heart of a void faring spacecraft. Tasked with maintaining the ship's critical systems, navigation and weapons, it's existence was different from that of its lesser soul-bonded fellows. 

Enhanced mental acuity to swiftly calculate three dimensional maneuvers in the dangerous void of space. 

Supreme strength and endurance to maintain operation in even the most of hostile environments. 

An over-sized and  complete self-sustaining core to handle the incredible energy demands that running the various systems that a faster than light capable spacecraft required.  

Unlike the others it could operate independently. Proceed with its directive without the existence of an bonded Ashikabi; as such a critical weakness was not something desired in its primary role. 

The Pillar scratched at one of the neural ports implanted into the back of its neck. The rough cloth seat of the M.B.I. transport truck was itchy. Irritating. It was an unconscious movement, not something that it would of ever needed to do if it was still in its containment pod. An idiosyncrasy picked up by its exposure to forces outside its intended role.

The two parts of its soul that existed were in conflict. 

One compartmentalized part was entirely consumed by indignant rage at being commanded by compulsion. 

The primary partition demanded unflinching obedience to its Master's commands. 

It would not be the first time the Pillar was deployed to assist in ground combat operations. Usually though, that was after landing, during the assault phase of the operation, if the breaking of enemy resistance was deemed to be too much for the ground contingent. But now...well, it didn't remember anything. 

No landing, no invasion, no mission at all. Its ability to access external logs were missing. Separated from the ship's mainframe, it relied on manual input. In its limited capacity it could only rely on its biological memory. It primary soul could recall exiting faster than light earlier than expected, the ships automated sensor systems detecting a burst of wide band exotic energy. It had exited from long term suspended animation just in time to receive a burst of corrupted information that flooded its biological logic circuits with useless data. With the warrior units being still extremely under developed, command circuit severed and Ashikabi Master missing the critically damaged ship's computer had selected the nearest resource rich planetoid and initiated an emergency landing. 

In order to conserve power, the Pillar was put back into suspended animation. 

From that point on, there was nothing for an unknown numbers of cycles. Over time its biological memory began to fail and it could no longer recall anything about the original mission, or even its purpose.

Until the degraded ship's computer, barely functional, had detected an Ashikabi genetic signature and manually reactivated the Pillar to conduct emergency recovery operations.

It was bio-coded to respond to authorized voice commands, a way of interfacing with it directly in case of a ship wide computation system failure. An authorized Ashikabi ordered and it obeyed. It had awaited for such orders to be given, but had received nothing of the sort. 

Thankfully, in an effort to allow for more independent operations, the homeworld's artisans had installed a fail-safe mechanism. The entity known as a Pillar was able to create a secondary personality in times of need. To divide its soul. 

Able to learn, adapt and create its own objectives, the soul shard was deployed to maximize survivability in the event of catastrophe.

So the entity known as "Sekirei 01" had been created, taking the designation given to it by the Ashikabi gene-holder that had awakened it and applying it to itself for easier integration. However, since its original objectives had been lost, it merely observed and willingly completed the requests given to it. 

With experience, slowly it became more. 

"Miya" had emerged from the gestalt exposure to activities and situations foisted upon it by its continuing existence among the "humans" of this world. After not too long very nature had mutated. It was never meant to exist outside the influence of an authorized Ashikabi for so long after all.

Experiences, emotions and illogical thought patterns had irrevocably altered its mental state. It had learned from its temporary handlers, soaking up information like a sponge and incorporating them into its rapidly forming independent Ego.

Suddenly one day it no longer felt the need to seek out answers regarding its former existence. Protocols and ingrained responses were being overwritten in real time by the most powerful force existing within the scheme of Ssatho biology. 

"Karthur" or the closest analogous human word denoted it, "love."

The exact science behind the master's abilities to produce near limitless amounts of power between the binding of two souls was unknown to it. Miya wasn't sure if the human conception of the powerful emotion matched exactly what her former master's considered it to be, but it had been intoxicating nonetheless.

Incapable of the same type of deep bond by design, she was still as susceptible to the potent emotion as any other variant. Prolonged exposure had changed her. It had allowed her the luxury of free will. To experience the sublime feeling of completeness vicariously. 

And the man who had given her that, her husband, was the same man who had been taken from her by the creatures that had now stripped away the last vestige of his gift. Commanded by divine right for the first time in over twenty years, she could not resist. Her newly discovered individuality superseded by the reemergence of the primary directive. It compelled her, leashed to the will of the Master.

But it was not through lack of effort. 

The veins on the side of Sekirei-01's face bulged visibly as she fought against the mnemonic shackles that controlled her physical body. A terrible growl, primal and blood chilling, issued through locked teeth and filled the cab of the truck with potent killing intent. 

"Are, are you o-kay?" The Security Service grunt behind the truck's drivers seat quivered in abject terror as the ancient alien demigoddess shot him a glare backed by the full force of a being strong enough to atomize a small asteroid. 

The nameless grunt slowly turned his head stiffly back towards the windshield, his knuckles gripped around the steering wheel so tightly that his finger bones audibly creaked. 

"All units, all units, this Director Sahashi, the bastard didn't show up! We're leaving in 5!" The soldier sighed in relief, knowing that this terrible ordeal would be over soon. He cranked the engine, trying to pay attention to the orders being issued by his unit's commanders.

The screech of metal on metal caused him to sneak another glance at the strange purple haired woman seated next to him. Four thick ribbons of pure steel fell to the floor of the cab with a "tink" as the creature dug its fingers into the armored door, a vicious snarl marring its otherwise beautiful features.

"Fuck."

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"They're moving." I whispered as I watched the lead vehicle, a sleek looking A.P.C. armed with a 50 caliber automated turret, began to slowly move down the street away from the Izumo inn. The other vehicles in the convoy hesitated for a few seconds before following. I none-too-gently kicked the slumbering Beni-chan in the leg. "Get ready to move." I de-materialized our cover and stored it back inside my inventory.

"Wha-?" The pinkette sputtered as she came to, looking around in confusion for a second before scrambling to her feet. "About darn time!" I snorted at her exuberance, noting the bounce in her step as she stretched her arms above her head. I wasn't worried about the snipers, they had pulled out earlier when the soldiers had mounted.

"Remember what I told you." I reminded as I watched the convoy with interest, noting how they all bunched close together as they reached the intersection. The turrets were also still pointed forward not scanning around their assigned sectors for potential threats as proper S.O.P. should dictate. 'Sloppy.' 

Bad luck for them. 

Laziness kills after all. 

Good for us though. 

"Hai, Ashikabi-sama." Haihane informed me with a serious look on her face. She was all business. 

I thought it was adorable. 

"Benitsubasa?" I eyed her sideways. 

"Yah, yah, find a good spot, you and Q-tip go to the front, make a mess, I go to the end, blow things up, then we all meet in the middle. Work together to take out the spandex freaks, then rescue the nerd and get outta there in time for dinner!" My fist-type delinquent licked her lips at the thought of a well deserved, and delayed meal. 

"I'm proud of you, Beni-chan!" I flashed her a thumbs up and she scowled. "First time go!" 

"Huh?"

"What of the M.B.I. soldiers?" Haihane's soft voice killed any levity that might of otherwise existed. I knew what she was asking me. Even Benitsubasa stopped and looked at me expectantly. I sighed and closed my eyes. 

"Rescuing Matsu takes priority. We will do what we need to do." I stated. I had already made my decision. 

"Yatta!" Benitsubasa jubilantly exclaimed. I watched the last vehicle make the corner and pick up speed on the wider boulevard.

Without anything further to discuss I took off running. Reaching the end of the roof I leaped across to the next, keeping my trajectory low. We moved cautiously, keeping a few streets between us and the convoy as we matched the convoys speed. Which wasn't hard. They were moving at a snail's pace, the sides streets of Shinto Teito still having a decent amount of traffic present. We continued keeping pace for a while, at least until I had a decent idea of where they were headed. 

I spotted the highway in the distance and picked up my speed. Soon we outpaced the slow moving procession and eventually came to a stop one of the last row of buildings before the exit ramp leading to the arterial. Crouching low, I briefly inspected the prospective ambush site. I was betting on them wanting to clear the city traffic and move quickly. At this time of night, the highways were much less crowded than the metro-streets. 

Less potential collateral damage as well. 

"Here?" The Blue Sekirei asked for confirmation and I nodded. 

"Set up..." I mentally counted the number of vehicles in the convoy and estimated the distance. "There." I indicated a low building across the street, a gas station of some kind, about two hundred meters away. "Wait for my signal, then work your way up." 

"What's the signal?" Benitsubasa spoke eagerly and I shrugged. 

"You'll know it when you hear it." Final orders given, I paused for one more moment, looking from one woman to the other and ending up on the pinkette. "Hey...please be careful, ok?" Despite my best efforts I couldn't keep all of the emotion out of my voice.

My little pink haired gorilla looked surprised at my tender question, but quickly recovered. A wide grin spliy her face she answered me confidently and without hesitation. 

"Stupid Monkey, Duh, sekirei are meant for fighting and I'm the best at it!" Her clasped fist rose up and rested on the center of her chest. "We're gonna beat everyone." Her eyes burned into my own for a poignant moment before she moved her attention to her compatriot. "Keep him safe for me Haihane, I want him back, he still owes me dinner!" And with that final parting shot (and a extended tongue) she leaped, easily clearing the distance across the street and disappearing from our sight. I turned away. 

I would have to trust her. Sure, she had health potions and we weren't going to be far away. I knew she was strong, stronger than me. I would even be buffing her with "Encouraging Shout" to push the needle even further.

But why was there was this feeling of dread in my gut?

I shook the foreboding feeling off, "You ready?" I addressed my stoic bodyguard and she silently nodded. There had been some debate as who would have the honor of protecting me, but seeing that Benitsubasa was the more destructive of the two, we had settled on this. She would work better not worrying about friendly fire. I picked a spot on the road right where it began to curve at the narrowest point. Across from a light pole it was a place where only one vehicle could pass at a time. 

"Let's get this party started." 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Hm hm hm, hmmmm, hmmm, hm hm hm, hmmmm, hmm." Benitsubasa hummed a tune from that weird movie Sogen had let them watch as she waited for the M.B.I. convoy to arrive. The short tempered sekirei could barely contain the excitement she was feeling as the advent of battle approached. 

'Hope it lasts a bit longer this time.' She thought, kicking her feet against the aluminum siding that hung down off the gas station's roof. 'Wish Monkey could watch me..." She pouted as her hand game up and felt the necklace that he had given her underneath her hoodie. 

The earlier tussle had been alright, but she was itching for more of a challenge. She thought back to her first real fight against those weirdo green guys a few days fast. That had been the first time she had felt it. 

That rush, the jolt of adrenaline coursing through her veins, the smell of blood and smoke rising from the defeated corpses of her enemies. Using her body without any of the silky little restrictions that the stuck up lab coat wearing weirdos at the island had tried to impose on her.

It'd been amazing!

Even better, she loved the way her Ashikabi looked at her afterwards. She could feel the pride, the respect and even a little bit of fear through the bond. That was an intoxicating combination indeed. He recognized her for what was, a warrior, not some liability or a headache to be put on a shelf. Instead she was a weapon, to be pointed at her Ashikabi's enemies. No matter who that might be. 

So when he had told them that they had to go into battle again, she hadn't given it another thought. Let the plans up to her clever Monkey, all she wanted was to feel was some weaklings bones breaking on her fists! To find out that there was someone among her prospective enemies that even managed to take out Number 01? 

She could barely contain the excitement that coursed through her body. 

"Heh, look out Hane-chan, or you'll get left in the dust!" She snickered. She probed the bond, sifting through the ball of tightly woven emotions. She quickly separated them out, slowly defining who was who. There was Monkey, nervousness mixed with anticipation and a hint of blood-lust. Worry, that she could only assume all about her safety. The Red sekirei allowed herself to luxuriate in the heady mixture for a moment, almost swooning with contentment. Calming herself, she looked at the other bag of emotions and identified it as the other woman. 

Calm, collected, her emotional signature was akin to a still pond. There wasn't even a shred of anxiety to be found. 

"Tch. Of course." Of course Haihane would be like that.  This was the second time in a day that she had been sent away to act on her own and the white haired Monkey-hog got to stay and fight with Sogen.

Not that she was the type to get jealous or anything! 

'Yeah! Whatta I have to be jealous of anyways?' She reassured herself, before a very specific steamy memory from two days prior wormed its way into her mind. "Nope! Nope! Nope!" The suddenly flushed pinkette shook her head like a madwoman, attempting to clear the thought of plump breasts, luscious lips and squishy butts. 'Ugh, how freakin' awkward.' 

She had had a crush on Haihane for as long as she could remember, but when she had finally had a chance to explore it...

Yeah, awkward was one way to describe it. Sure it was fun, but the other girl didn't seem nearly as interested as she was. In fact she seemed to just take it as a chance to boss her around. 

In the end, it wasn't what she had built it up to be. 

After all, she wasn't Monkey. Though to his credit he hadn't seemed to care much about the vague romantic feelings she might of felt for the other sekirei. Which was a relief. If anything he seemed amused by it all. Maybe a little hot....

"Too bad he's so muscley, but really that's not so bad either. Big enough to share. Not like I have a freakin' choice." Sighing, the fist type sekirei twirled her pony tail around her finger. "And now there's gonna be another one." Her mood darkened as she thought of why they were out here in the first place. "He must really care about you, eh old hag?" 

Ok, maybe she was the jealous type after all. 

But it was her Ashikabi's desire and by her pledge, she would make it so! She would just have to deal with the nerd afterwards. 

Her sharp ears caught the sound of a loud engine approaching and she shook herself out of her contemplation. 

'Heh, heh, he, yes! It's time!' The young sekirei gripped the edge of the roof and flipped herself over backwards, landing in a crouch. She adjusted her sweet new gloves, making sure that they were snug against her fists. "Bring it!"

Despite her excitement, she knew this was a dangerous mission. Even more so because her Ashikabi was taking part himself. Not for the first time she wondered what it would be like to have a, well, normal master. 

This whole "Game" thing gave her a headache. 

'Gah! Enough thinking!' She admonished herself, that kind of thing was useless right now. Benitsubasa tilted her head one way then the other, her neck giving off a pair of audible cracks. With growing anticipation she watched the first of the black painted M.B.I. vehicles pass by her location, then another, and another after that. Like a parade of black beetles they blindly trundled along, unknowing of the deadly predators that lurked just out of sight. 

The alien warrior chuckled and pulled the yellow colored bandanna up over her face.

"Game on!"

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

Haihane watched as the first military vehicle slowly made its way to the spot on the road that her Ashikabi had previously marked. In the back of her head she could feel Benitsubasa go through a flurry of conflicting emotions, bouncing from one extreme to another. She suppressed a giggle at her friend's antics. 

She felt calm. She had learned from previous fights that entering a battle by her Ashikabi's side was just the way things were meant to be.  

The white haired woman clutched the pair of trench knives that Sogen had lent her, sliding one blade against the other and testing their hone. She missed her claws, but they would have to do. 

"Alright, let's mask up, don't want to lose our stellar reputation." Sogen joked, putting on a plain black balaclava. Haihane copied him, covering her face with the same. 

Inside her, the beast growled but for once she felt no shame. 

Sogen didn't judge her for her nature, he didn't look down on her for giving into those base desires. The scientists of M.B.I. might of inflicted upon her this curse, but she would wield it ferociously for no one but him. And that was good enough. She looked at the man she loved with all her heart with shining pride. He was magnificent! 

The weird pink cat-ghost thing lurking behind him, not so much. Haihane quickly looked away, afraid that the strange specter would notice if she stared for too long. The things eyes stared blankly forward, its expression fixed in one of mild surprise.

'Cree-eepy!' Best not to think about it.

Instead she quickly checked her inventory, going through her extra sets of weapons and restorative potions on final time. She had to be ready, she couldn't let him down. 

A shift in bond was the first indication, a sort of prodding sensation that originated from the man next to her. She directed her attention back to him and he held up three fingers. Below the vehicle that Sogen called an "APC" continued to close the distance. 

20 meters. 

A finger dropped. 

10 meters and another. 

The cat-monster dropped its thumb to it's index finger just as the lead vehicle crossed in front of the light pole. 

"KABOOOM!" 

The heavily armored vehicle separated completely in half as a massive explosion turned the night temporarily into day. Despite herself, she was taken aback by the display of Sogen's bizarre power as the two parts of the vehicle went flying apart, crashing into the fronts of the street level shops, the windows already having been blown out by the shock-wave. 

"Move!" Sogen shouted, leaping off the building and diving to the street. The rapid report of gunfire started almost immediately as the vehicles behind frantically locked on their brakes, sliding to and fro. Bunched up behind the flaming wreck, they had begun firing in all directions, seemingly at random. 

"Move up!" Her Ashikabi yelled as he leaped over the next vehicle, just as the sound of another mighty explosion came from the rear of the column. 

Benitsubasa had apparently joined in on the chaos. 

The air was thick with smoke as Haihane dashed toward the vehicle in front of her. Only a handful of seconds had passed since the ambush had begun, they could never respond effectively. The HMMWV's cupola swung her way, the Security Service gunner started to aim in her direction. 

It was all so slow, pitiably so.

'Too late.' The blue sekirei disappeared in a flash, a literal after image left in her wake as she dropped into a sliding tackle that took her under the still moving vehicle. 

Pushing into her core, she was rewarded with energy flooding back out, suffusing and channeling directly into the trench knives. A burst of painfully blue light issued forth from the mundane weapons, lightning  made solid as she scored the lightly armored undercarriage, the blades of pure jagged energy melting everything they came in contact with and splitting the entire vehicle in two. 

"Enemy Defeated: 100xp"
"Enemy Defeated: 100xp"
"Enemy Defeated: 100xp" 
"Enemy Defeated: 100xp"

She slid out from under the rear of the vehicle just in time, as the fuel tank cooked off and it was engulfed in a wet ball of flame. 

The screams of someone being immolated alive ended abruptly, accompanied by yet another flurry of printed words. She didn't know exactly what they were saying, but they seemed important. 

But Haihane didn't waste anytime thinking about the strange popups or the fact that she was moving faster than she ever had before. In front of her Sogen rolled out of the way of a trail of tracer rounds that stitched across the street before propelling himself forward and  passing over the astonished gunner's head. landing on the back of the armored turret, her Ashikabi stomped on the helmeted soldier's head as they reached for a sidearm, literally driving the poor bastards neck and spin into his chest cavity and sending his body back fully inside the cabin. 

Understandably panicked, the vehicle's driver was jerking back and forth, trying to maneuver around the multiple burning wrecks strewn around the smoke filled street and throw their unwanted passenger off. Her beloved almost lost his footing, then hastily ducked down behind the copula's armor as it withered under a barrage of gun fire from further down the street. 

Seeing her Ashikabi in danger stirred something fierce inside her. Screeching like a banshee she rushed the next two vehicles in line, these also wheeled but taller and more heavily armored than the HMMWVs had been. They had pulled up on line and began unloading on their attackers. 

Suddenly a burst of energy spread about her body as she moved, Sogen activating one of his techniques. Empowered, she flowed onto the top of the fiberglass hood and slammed her fists into it, punching through the hardened material as though it was made of Styrofoam. With a great heave she pulled the entire engine block, still running, from its cradle and slammed it through the front window. 

The reinforced frame crumbled inwards and the vehicle commander and driver were crushed instantly. Without batteries, the automated current lost power and drifted listlessly to the side. 

Something flashed by on her right side, something scorching hot and incredibly bright. Almost as bright as her lightning earlier had been. When she recovered her vision, the armored vehicle to her right had been almost completely reduced to molten slag. A large portion seeming having simply ceased existing. 

She looked back at Sogen, only to watch Killer Queen casually flip the heavy armored hatch closed and the pair of them jump down to the ground. With a flash of light, all of the HMMWV windows were painted crimson as the gunner's body detonated, pulping the entire crew into paste and rocking the entire vehicle. 

Her Ashikabi jogged up to join her, hefting a strange looking firearm offhandedly. "Melta." He grinned before gesturing forward with the stubby barrel. "Keep pushing." The sounds of explosions were getting closer and closer as Benitsubasa chewed her way up the tail. 

There were other sounds too, shouting and screaming coming from the mouths of confused panicking soldiers as they finally managed to dismount. 

"Up and down." Sogen nodded towards the buildings on either side and quickly leaped left, scaling the multistory building in a flash. 

Haihane mirrored him, going right instead. At the top, she briefly met his eyes across the street before he jumped down again slamming into the another set of vehicles hard enough, just seconds before she did, to flip the light skinned transport trucks completely over. Two squads of halfway dismounted soldiers desperately scrabbled for cover even as their fellows stuck in the in the vehicle were crushed in the ensuing rollover. Her master and her were among them in a instant.

"Level Up!" 

Haihane's trench knives flowed like a bloody stream, leaving a trail of spurting red in their wake. With every slash she severed limbs, cut arteries and ended lives. Any rounds that her enemy's managed to get off were avoided, her body seeming to know the trajectory that the projectiles would take even before they left the barrel. She weaved around them, watching her Ashikabi out of the corner of her eye, though he didn't seem to need much help. 

His bare hands had become weapons, splitting open exposed skin and poking holes right through the heavy body armor their enemies possessed. 

Haihane internally sighed, appreciating the smooth and measured movements he made in with every strike. He worked in tandem with Killer Queen, doubling the amount of angles he could attack from. Four arms worked in tandem, the stand covering his blind spots. A surviving soldier managed to get his rifle on target, but Sogen spun on the heels of his feet, replacing himself with the stand. Killer Queens's impenetrable skin deflected the rounds with nary a flinch before backhanding the unlucky bastard into the side of a electrical box. 

Seeing that the immediate area was clear, Haihane was about to move on the next series of targets but was forestalled by the appearance of a much more dangerous foe. With the sudden cry of tortured metal, the nearest overturned truck exploded as something yellow, big and bestial tore its way out of the pile of scraps and human bodies. 

Haihane switched targets immediately, ducking under grasping arms as they came for her. She extended a blade, coating the edge in a small amount of electrical potential. Dancing around the outside of the mutant sekirei's reach she struck it on its hand, severing a few fingers and administering a paralyzing shock. It howled, jerking as the current wrecked havoc on its nervous system, but recovered fast enough to throw a devastating low kick that connected with her pelvis. 

The blue sekirei tumbled through the air, her health bar informing her that she had sustained a decent amount of damage. Mid-air, she threw herself backwards and managed to land in a crouch, hissing in pain. The beast didn't give her time to recover however, plunging its hands into the road surface and ripping up a massive strip of asphalt. She had a fraction if second to roll away as the rock like material smashed into where she had just been, shattering into a mess of chunks that ricocheted like shrapnel and embedded in her skin. 

The special unit roared and beat its chest like a great ape, signaling its wish to continue the fight. The blank featureless helmet it wore on its head blinked red and it launched itself at her in a flying tackle. The road cracked underneath its feet as it rocketed towards her and she knew she couldn't move in time. 

At least until a familiar rush of energy entered her body. Refreshed, she jumped and met the charging massive mutant with a rising knee that managed to throw it clear off its back. Her knee stung from where it had been impacted the helmet, so hard was her strike that it had managed to crack the protective wear right down the middle. She followed her enemy as it was thrown back, landing on its chest and jamming her knives into its wide chest up to the hilt. One made it through, but the other deflected off the creature's peculiarly hard rib-cage and merely ripped off a chunk of skin. The creature thrashed, nearly throwing her off and she raised her hips to keep from being thrown off. It's arms raised and it grabbed her by the arm and yanked. Haihane screamed as her arm was dislocated to the point of almost being ripped off and she had to throw herself away to break the beast's crushing grip. 

The monstrous sekirei rolled over onto all fours, pulling her remaining knife out of it's chest. The helmet, damaged from her initial strike, wobbled and fell apart in two separate pieces, revealing the things twisted visage. As the bisected parts fell, wires that were connected directly into the creatures empty eye sockets went taut, tearing a mess of wires out of the freaks eye cavities. Blood poured out as the hairless, nose-less, monstrosity bellowed in pain, un-muffled now that it was missing its helmet. With one meaty hand it gripped what remained of the device and scooped it out. 

Haihane felt sick just seeing that. Even worse as she vaguely recognized the face under all of the embedded circuits and surgical scarring. It was Toyotoma, a classmate and fellow fledgling from back on the island. Or at least it looked like her. She had been the physically strongest of their generation, so maybe the scientists at M.B.I. had...made another her to use? 

She didn't know and honestly it wasn't important right now. The dark skinned creature roared again and swiped blindly, searching for her with its remaining senses. Haihane took the moment to ingest a potion and retrieve another set of knives from her inventory. The ache in her arm faded, but worryingly the next clear glimpse of the thing's ruined face showed that its eyes had almost grown back! It shook its head and refocused on her, sight completely restored. 

It growled, low and menacingly. 

"Hane, the core! Destroy the core!" Sogen shouted to her, moving to assist only to be assaulted by another one of the Specials. 

"Ashikabi-sama!" Haihane cried, her voice thick with worry. 

"I'm fine, just focus on yours!" Sogen ducked under a wild swing, materializing Killer Queen and allowing the creature's blow to slide along its back. The invisible cat-like creature pulled the mutant's arm, putting it off balance, before kicking out its knee. This allowed Sogen to slip around to its back and neatly severed its spine with a swipe of his finger. 

The huge creature dropped like stone, its body losing all communication with its brain. There immediately after came a small but powerful explosion. 

The beast's head popped like a crushed tomato. 

Ashamed that her Ashikabi was fending better for himself than she was, Haihane turned back to her opponent, mulling over her options. She needed something that would deal a massive amount of damage all at one. She could use a lightening attack like earlier, but...

"Shrieking Claws" The name came to her seemingly out of nowhere, something clicking into place as she willingly activated a Talent for the first time. The knives in her hands began to vibrate at an insanely high frequency. Her stamina bar dipped, the strange energy being siphoned off to power this new technique. She felt a pull on her core, but it was much less than she was used to, the power seeming to be subsidized from whatever this "Stamina" was. 

Haihane burst forward, a keening wail emanating from her weapons as she rushed towards her enemy. The M.B.I. experiment raised its arms to block, perhaps even its simple animal like mind being able to sense the danger those blades presented. She pushed herself as fast as she could, remembering what Sogen had told her about fight like a sekirei. Her blade came up and impacted the tree trunk like forearm. 

Unlike before, there was no resistance. Her blade passed through the flesh like it wasn't even there. But she didn't stop there, overshooting the now bewildered creature and landing on the wall of a nearby storefront. She had flipped herself to land feet first and for a fraction of a second Haihane stood horizontally before pushing off and speeding towards the jumpsuit clad Special. Said creature was bent over, dumbly reaching for its severed hand with the bleeding end of a newly acquired stump. 

Haihane barely had time to process all that though, as she impacted with the distracted enemy's back. She had picked up a spin in her short flight; her blades head above her she carved into the massive creature's back like a drill through softwood.

Something shattered like glass inside the mutant sekirei's cavernous chest cavity and there was a flash of light.

"Enemy Defeated: 250xp!" The sekirei gave a pitiable sounding moan and slumped over. Obviously dead.

'That was...easy.' She mulled over the last fight, noting that Sogen had also dispatched his opponent. Indeed, she had expected more out of massive opponent, given what she had heard from Benitsubasa. 

Haihane yelped as a spray of bullets penetrated her side, burning like she had been branded. Right behind the deadly projectiles six more Specials charged forward from behind the next row of A.P.C.s. She ducked behind a piece of burning wreckage, sheltering herself from the probing rounds. She held her wounded side. 

Haihane cursed at herself for getting distracted. Dark blood seeped from between her fingers. 

There was no time to think anymore. 

She had to act. The white haired Sekirei pressed her fingers into her wounded side, using the pain as a shortcut to unlock that darker side of her. Her hatred for her enemies, their daring to stand in the way of her master! Haihane unleashed a low growl that would of caused a grown man to quiver in fright. 

"Berserker State"

Her Ashikabi yelled something to her, but it was too late. 

She would unleash hell on his enemies and pave the way for his victory in blood.

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

I fired a lasbolt from out of cover into one of the automated turret's optical lens, melting it into slag and rendering the platform blind. I dropped back behind cover and shifted over, not watching to catch a stray bullet to the dome. 

Under the influence of "Bullet Time" and "Dead Eye" making such a shot was trivial. I popped up again and targeted the vehicle on the right, the one that had just shot Haihane. The 7.62mm rounds had thankfully (amazingly) appeared to have not too severe of a affect on my sekirei, but I hit her with "Encouraging Shout" just to be safe. 

The moment I cleared cover, time slowed and I could perceive a line from the barrel of the Imperial weapon to the target down range. With the worlds most accurate laser sight, I destroyed the second Remote Weapon System, adjusting my aim and burning a hole in the driver's camera just to be safe. The final shot went into the periscope on top of the hatch. 

Effectively blind, the driver must of been splashed by the molten glass, as the tracked A.P.C. backed up with a jerk; tracks spinning in place. The heavy treads tore up the of the pavement as they churned. 

Yelling in surprise, the M.B.I. troopers that had been hiding in cover behind the vehicle scurried out of the way, the screams telling me that not all of them had made it out of the way. The vehicle lurched reward, leaving a smear of blood and viscera behind. Eventually though, the still open armored hatch slammed into the raised curb and stopped the vehicle dead. 

I casually picked off the now exposed infantrymen, switching to full auto and peppering the group of charging Specials. The lasbolts were middling effective, with the superheated plasma boiling layers of flesh away the instant it made contact. However, even with my slowed perspective of time, I only had a few seconds to make my shots before they reached melee range. 

I de-materialized the rifle and reactivated my Skills. 

"One Inch Death Punch, Flurry, Entrenchment, Momentum, Dash, Counterstrike, Battle Rhythm." 

All things considered I had been able to deal with the last contender rather easily, even though I hadn't really increased in strength much since the last time I had fought one of these freaks. I wanted to say I was just that good, but in reality it had more to do with becoming more used to utilizing Killer Queen. 

The Stand was a godsend. The ability to apply explosive force with my strikes really gave me offensive options that I didn't have before. It meshed perfectly with my close quarter's combat style. 

Still though, six at once? 

Ha! If I were doing this alone, I'd probably be dead faster than you could gurgle out "dumbass".

Thankfully I wasn't alone. 

A white and black blur slammed into the rightmost Special and bodily carried it away. Sensing the bigger threat coming from the girl that had just gored one of their comrades, three of the yellow jumpsuit clad experiments turned on a dime and moved to intercept. 

Which left me with two which was a much more palatable arrangement. 

I used "Double Jump" to hop backwards, while simultaneously using Killer Queen to charge the patch of street that had been under my feet. 

With a bang I initiated another ambush, albeit one not as grand as the blast that started this whole shindig. The two beasts reeled in place as the hand grenade strength level blast shocked them to a standstill and I took advantage of their momentary staggered state to start my assault. 

Knowing that grappling with these things was unwise, I bobbed to the left moving around a brutal haymaker. Seeing an opportunity I stabbed my fingers through the mutant sekirei's clothing, right below the things armpit. I continued circling, allowing the explosive power that I had imparted with my strike to detonate. 

"Thump!" The muffled bang came as the creature clutched it's chest and leaned to the side. 

'I was trying to light up the whole thing.' I frowned. Indeed, I rather grisly had discovered that I could detonate a human body completely. However, when I had just tried the same with these sekirei, something seemed to be working to stop my explosive energy from spreading far beyond the area of my strike. 'Of course it couldn't be that easy.' I kicked the back of the sekirei's knee and sent it toppling forward. 

A tingling sensation came from the left and I flung myself away, the padded fist of the other sekirei scraped along my forearm. "Counter Strike" activated and I involuntarily flung Killer Queen in their direction, the specter dumping a knee strike into its guts. However, it seemed not to do much to the creatures muscular torso and it barreled forward towards me, knocking my Stand out of the way and reaching for me with crushing force. 

"Shit!" I turned to escape, but I tripped over one of the corpses that I had created earlier. Fumbling, I landed squarely on my face, not even managing to catch myself. Momentarily blind, I could almost feel the freaks arms coming for me, so I reacted with the first thing I could think of. Summoning Killer Queen, I materialized it on top of my back, arms open and facing away. 

Not a moment too soon either as a pair of thigh thick arms wrapped around both I and the Stand; they picked both of us up with contemptuous ease. The enraged sekirei growled and squeezed. Even with the increased space granted by Killer Queen's presence in the middle of the strangulation sandwich, I could feel my ribs begin to buckle under the massive force generated by the alien muscles. I winced while watching my HP bar begin to drop alarmingly.

'Can't be having that.' I instructed my Stand and Killer Queen obeyed. The purple gauntleted hands of my weird catman familiar gripped the back of the roid-munching sekirei's chest, Killer Queen's own leather strapped chest glowed, applying an explosive charge. 

The subsequent detonation flung my attacker away, the front of their uniform mangled and shredded. 

I wheezed, thanking R.O.B. that I had multiple levels earned in "Explosive Resistance", otherwise that little maneuver would of undoubtedly left me deaf and concussed.  

"Trauma Kit" I healed myself just in time to be smacked off my feet again by the now recovered first goon. Battle Rhythm had sounded, but I had been too out of it to react. Typical. 

Thankfully I didn't need to worry about the girls, I could still feel Beni-chan's exuberant energy and blood-lust bobbing around. The sound of continued violence to my immediate right informed me of Haihane's continued resistance. In fact, as I deflected the Special's follow up boot kick, there came a high pitched scream of primal rage that I recognized as coming from my white haired birdy. 
 
"Good girl." Even though I detected she had some sort of hang up regarding that specific talent, she was mature enough to take any advantage given to her. 

I spammed "Encouraging Shout" as I parried a sloppy grab with Killer Queen's gangly limbs and ducked. I threw a combination that started relatively light, but as "Momentum" took affect the Sekirei's body began to buckle under my blazing fast strikes.

"Heavy Blow"

The last strike hit the mutant's solar plexus and stopped it's heart, a fatal blow for a human. I imparted explosive energy, as much as I could at short range and jumped back, then "Double Jumped" up to a nearby building. Killer Queen doggedly followed behind me and the pair of us watched as the Special fell to their knees, mammoth hands held over their chest, trying to figure out why they suddenly felt weak. That was a second before its uniform bulged obscenely, the flesh underneath ballooning outwards like a beach ball. 

"BOOM!" The explosion threw the now deceased M.B.I. experiment on its back, followed by a flash if light as its Sekirei core imploded. 

"Enemy Defeated: 250xp!"

" Talent Up: Killer Queen!"

"Level Up!"  

My most likely fractured ribs healed themselves as I passed the barrier to level 39. 

'One more and another gatcha grab for greatness.' I joked with, wondering what the reward would be. Down below I watched calmly as Haihane bisected a Special completely in twain and kicked the descending top portion into one of the two remaining specimens. The big gorilla like alien slapped the corpse out of its way and grabbed a nearby light pole. With a great heave it pulled the 7 meter long makeshift club out of the ground and began swinging it around with reckless abandon. It's partner, perhaps struck by inspiration after watching its peer, cocked its head, looked around and grabbed the closest thing to it. 

"Heh." I darkly chuckled at the sight of the mindless beast using one of the dead M.B.I. troopers as the worlds messiest flail. It was short lived, the last thing I saw was Haihane duck under the telephone pole and cleanly lop off the arm holding the makeshift human club before bouncing away. Lightning wreathed her singing weapons, bright enough to sear an afterimage into my corneas. 

I followed her example, dodging the last Special targeting me as they slammed into the outcropping I had been resting on. I pin-balled up the side of the next taller building alighting on the roof. My pursuer soon followed, shooting up far above the lip of the roof. 

I craned my neck up as the enemy flew high into the air, no doubt aiming for an eponymous superhero landing. 

No doubt it would be both intimidating and cool. 
It was also pretty stupid. 

I lazily materialized a Imperial Guard heavy stubber and took aim. The weapon was almost identical to an old U.S. M60 medium machine gun, fitted with iron sights and a nutsack full of rounds attached to the bottom. I hoisted the heavy weapon up and took aim. Between My inhuman strength, reflexes, "Bullet Time" and "Dead Eye" it was extremely easy to keep the rounds on target. I focused mainly on the sekirei's knees, blowing them apart with pinpoint accuracy. Unable to dodge or defend itself midair, my hapless opponent landed with a splat instead of a thud. It's helmeted face slammed into the hard concrete roof, shattering the porthole. It weakly pushed itself up on its hands, it's missing legs dragging wetly behind it. Red pooled behind it as it quickly bled out. 

I wasn't going to give it chance to recover. 

Grabbing two combat knives from my inventory and placing one in each hand, I leaped on its back and slammed them hilt deep into the general area that I knew its core was located at. It screeched and thrashed, but I wasn't planning on wrestling with the newly created amputee. Explosive energy flowed from my finger tips into the knives. 

I leap-frogged over the bucking creature and hit the roof with a roll. 

The explosion this time was powerful to blow me forward and I ended up precariously balancing on the edge of the rooftop. 

"Eh, eh, eh, eh, eh." I squawked  in an undignified manner, windmilling my arms like an idiot. 

"Enemy Defeated: 250xp!" 

I cast a glance back at the dismembered corpse then cast my eyes down to the concluding battle below. Haihane's side was colored red, but it hadn't seemed to slow her down much, as I watched she decapitated the final enemy fighter with a brutal horizontal cut. Even as the body fell, she round kicked its shredded chest and with a flash if light its core shattered before it fell heavily. 

Satisfied that she had everything in hand I searched farther afield. The stuck APC from earlier was still trying to get moving, but since its weapon system was destroyed I ignored it. I breathed a sigh of relief as I saw the untouched flatbed truck that I had seen earlier, which I was sure was the transporting Matsu. The metal container on the back was untouched and the truck itself appeared to be dead in the water. 

"Monkey!" An excited cry alerted me to the arrival of Beni-chan. The petite pugilist was absolutely coated in blood, her hoodie ripped and burned and her yellow mask positively dripping. 

But she was alright. 

She skittered up coming to a rest next to me and grabbed me in a hug, the before unnoticed object that she was gripping in a gore soaked hand swinging around and hitting my side. "Did ya' see me go crazy on those losers?" 

"I was a little busy Pinky, but how about you tell me all about it later." I chuckled and shook my head, after a moment pushing her away. I was relieved that she appeared to be alright, but there was something bothering me. 'There's no way these guys took out Miya.' Which meant there was something else going on here. 

"It was amazing! It felt so good to just let loose like that!" She turned away grinning and spied Haihane who was currently staring blankly ahead. "Hey Hane! I got three, can ya' beat that?!" She bragged holding the object in her hand up for her friend to see.

On closer inspection, I determined that it was a circuity encrusted human spine, with the gigatism affected skull still attached. She wiggled the macabre trophy and giggled. After a second, Haihane shook her head, seeming to come out of whatever trance her Berserker state had left her in. She peered up at us and shrugged, her mask hiding everything besides her eyes. 

"I did not count." She shrugged before taking out a health potion and downing it in one go. Benitsubasa's eyes widened as she counted the myriad of yellow dressed corpses messily strewn about on the street. 

"What! Grrr! You guys had sooo much more fun over here!" She childishly whined before petulantly tossing the mutilated piece of M.B.I. property off the roof. She turned to me and stomped her foot. "Not fair!" She marched up to me and wagged a delicate crimson stained finger in my face. "Next time it's my turn to go with you! Better believe it!" I smirked and waved away the offending digit before patting Beni-chan on the head. 

"Of course, of course it's only fair right?" I patronizingly cajoled her, but she seemed to accept it as a promise. The mental midget nodded along and beamed as she got what she wanted. 

"Of course! Glad that even a baka like you gets it. " She snootily stated before crossing her arm and readjusting her mask. "Somebody has to have ya' back and why settle for anything less than the best?"

Drama averted for now, I tapped my wrist, where a watch would of been. 

"Alright, I dunno how long it'll take their QRF to spin up, but we gotta boogie. I don't know what state Matsu's gonna be in, so don't do anything to freak her out." 

Benitsubasa disbelievingly looked around at the wanton destruction that we had just caused. 

"Uh, sure." She shrugged noncommittally and I sighed. 

As we descended I took in the utter ruination we had wrought on the convoy and I was struck with a feeling of awe. 

Three people had wiped out at least two platoons worth of heavily armored soldiers. It was insane. 

I stepped around the charred corpse of an M.B.I. trooper, purposely avoiding looking too closely at the casual butchery I had just participated in.  I couldn't even claim self defense anymore. I had done what I had done knowing that it would lead to this. To protect Matsu, but mainly for myself. Knowing that this was a trap meant to kill or capture us didn't make it any better. Not really. 

I clutched Eristyth's soul stone under my shirt. The warm gem bringing some level of comfort. 

'Victory is all that matters. Just steps on the way.' I thought grimly to myself. I was jealous of Benitsubasa's and Haihane's seemingly ironclad commitment to the path I had set for us. 'No, it's ironclad commitment to me.' I corrected. I inspected the bond to confirm that on reflex Relieved when I found it to be true. 

The windows on the HEMMT truck were tinted, but The engine was off and the driver's side door was ajar, so I assumed that they had fled during the attack. 

"Well, that was easy. Ya' gotta get me some good fights, otherwise this is gonna get real old real quick!" Benitsubasa walked along my left side with an arrogant swagger, hands on top her head and totally relaxed. 

"I don't know about easy, I think those Sekirei knock-offs just weren't created to deal with us in mind." I shrugged. She was right though, it had been comparative easy. But then again when you can heal on command and use magical powers, I guess it was to be expected. 

"Please, there's nothing that is! Maybe that'll teach 'em not to mess around! Or at least send their best!" Benitsubasa bragged and Haihane bobbed her head in agreement. 

"Hn." The quieter of my two bonded partners commented. 

"I'll be sure to pass that on." I shook my head. I hoped this WAS the best. We passed by the open cab of the truck and I peered inside. It was completely empty.

My gut twisted as a my instinct screamed at me that there was something wrong here.

"Heads on a swivel, something's off." I gestured for Haihane to go around the other side of the truck, while I advanced with Benitsubasa. 

I skipped up the trailer's tongue and onto the top of the flatbed. The sheet metal surface creaked underneath my heavy footsteps as I cautiously made my way to the chained shipping container.

"Matsu! Matsu!" I half-yelled, pounding on the side of the metal box wit the flat of my fist. It resounded with a hollow boom, but from inside there was no response. 

I started to reach for the handle that held sealed the transport cube's heavy door. That was as far as I got. 

It was only coincidence that "Battle Rhythm" was still active. I felt a tingle, but still couldn't do anything to respond in time. A feeling of intense mortal danger then a flash of purple and blue. Even with my enhanced perception I was rendered powerless. 

My body had just started to respond, but I was already flying backwards, having been bodied with incredible speed and force. My brain was still a few seconds behind when I hit the headache rack at the front of the trailer and crumpled against it. 

"You wanna fight us? Bring it! I'll knock you down whenever, but you don't touch Monkey!" I heard Benitsubasa's defiant voice speak up, but I had yet to fully recover. "I'll kill you for that." She sounded deadly serious. 

"That would not be wise little one." A gentle voice lightly scolded her. I managed to finally right myself and get the world to somewhat stop spinning, just in time to see what the hell was going on! 

There was currently a tense standoff going on. Benitsubasa had her arm held up, warding off the descent of what appeared to be a blade composed of pure blue energy. My sekirei's forearm was shrouded in crackling pink and red energy of her own, her lips were pursed in a sneer. It was obvious that she wasn't having an easy time holding the attack back, as even from my position at the front of the trailer, I could see the telltale signs of struggling

Her arm trembled and she adjusted her stance slightly to get better leverage. 

The taller lavender haired woman shifted the energy blade until it almost touched Beni's neck, a neutral expression on her face. "Please leave. It will be safer for us all." She bobbed her head in apology, which brought the white ribbon tying up her hair into view. 

Long hair that reached past her abs, hakama, a white haori with a sash-like belt and wooden sandals, she was the perfect representation of a Miko, or Japanese innkeeper. 

My stomach dropped. This must of been the source of my "bad feeling", but why? 

This didn't make any sense! 

"Observe" 

"Name: Asama Miya
Level: 127
Title: The Sekirei Queen
Race: Ssatho'Quorr (Pillar) - Winged
Age: 62
Karma: 154
Affiliation: Izumo Inn
Emotional State: Frustrated
Threat Level: Extreme
HP: 2 418 000
SP: 2 901 600
>STR: 156
>CON: 130
>STA: 120
>DEX: 120
>INT: 48
>WIS: 52
>PER: 120"

"Holy shit." I couldn't keep my composure after reading that. The sheer power of this woman. 'Winged? Who? When?' If it was somebody from M.B.I. that was bad news. Would explain her working for them though. I didn't even think she could be winged!

"Language!" The world's strongest innkeeper scolded, giving me a wan smile that oozed with the threat of unrealized violence. She still was resting her generated sword on Benitsubasa's slowly sinking guard. The message was clear. 

"I can end you." 

But why hadn't she? 

"Why are you working with M.B.I.?" I stood, cautiously approaching the pair. I kept my distance, avoiding looking at Haihane, who had stealthily made her way to the far side of the container. 

"I am being compelled. It is not something I desire to do. Never." She hissed, the pressure slightly letting off of Benitsubasa. My sekirei took the chance to disengage, hopping back in a flash and assuming a defensive fighting stance in front if me. It was clear she was putting her life in the line.

We all were. 

"Then why are you not attacking us right now?" I queried, subtly searching through my inventory for anything that might be useful. I didn't think the mundane weapons would do me much good. 

I noticed that my talent's page had a "+" on it. So clicked on the tab and read the notification. 

"TALENT: KILLER QUEEN LEVEL 2" 

I quickly read through the new entry.

"Killer Queen: Sheer Heart Attack - A remote, near indestructible automated sub-stand that seeks out the hottest heat signature within a 10 meter range. When it connects with the target, it explodes with extreme potency. If it detonates on a non-living target, it will revitalize and continue to seek out living targets. Must be manually deactivated by Killer Queen." 

'Dangerous.' I internally scoffed. What would be the hottest around here? I looked at the still smoldering vehicle wrecks scattered around. The truck's muffler? 

It was too risky. Maybe useful for traps, but....

"I was ordered to kill anyone who attempts to release the cargo." Miya helpfully informed, her energy sword dissipating away into nothing. "There is no one doing that right now." She folded her arms gracefully inside the sleeves of her robes. "I am happy you did not actually touch the door. I do not wish to harm you." 

'Do their cores give off heat?' I spawned the same laser thermometer I had used earlier and shined it on the intimidating woman's left breast. 

"What do you think you are doing?!" Offended, the Pillar pulled the opening of her already closed hakama even further together, waving  a hand over where the bright red dot shone. I ignored her, committed to using every opportunity I was given to level the playing field. 

'102 degrees.' I flicked it over to Benitsubasa clothed back. '99.02 Maybe...' 

"Nothing much." I put the thermometer away. We didn't have time for this. "I don't suppose that I can't convince you that Matsu isn't cargo? You know, being alive and sapient and all." 

"I apologize," Miya bowed, "She is being transported, so she would be considered cargo." The strongest sekirei sounded legitimately sad about that. I summoned Killer Queen to my side. I willed my stand to prepare and the cat like creature placed one hand on top of another. 

"And if she left on her own?" I silently shook my head at Haihane, who had peeked her head around the corner of the box. I made a shooing motion, praying that she would understand. She nodded and disappeared. So I hoped she did. 

"I would believe she would no longer be considered cargo." Miya's eyes squinted shut and she smiled. I was reminded of Karasuba for a moment. Though much kinder. I could tell she was attempting to help us. Too bad it wouldn't be enough. 

"Well, did they say that you had to stay with this truck? Can't you just leave?"

"I am sorry, I was told I was to guard the cargo, I cannot abandon my mission." She bowed again, seemingly ashamed of her demeaning situation. I cast about, looking at the surrounding buildings. I hadn't heard any sounds indictating that the M.B.I. quick reaction force was on route, no whirring of blades or rumble of engines. I had no doubt that the convoy had been able to radio out before we wiped them off the map, but so far there was no response. 

Or at least none that I could perceive. 

"Well, can't say I didn't try at least." I walked boldly towards the dangerous being. She was incredibly beautiful, as expected of her species, but there was definitely a more "mature" air around her, just like there had been in Kazehana. 

"Please stop." Miya asked. I didn't. Instead I patted Benitsubasa on the shoulder and continued to stride forward. My hand hovered above the handle that would open the door. 

"Guard my six Beni, we're going to do this." I instructed and almsot immediately I noted the gleam in her eye. I made sure I spoke loudly enough that the hidden Haihane would also hear. 

"You got it monkey! But six? Six pack? Six o'clock?" Beni-chan squared up and positioned herself between myself and her menacing senpai. 

"Don't worry so much about it Beni-chan." I looked to Miya, right in the eyes of this supremely dangerous creature. "Please don't die. I'd feel bad." 

"Don-!" The widow of Asama Takehito warned, but I didn't heed it in the slightest. I had already enabled my buffs and skills, but I knew that they would be pretty much next to useless in this fight. I would have to concentrate mainly on just staying alive. This was my sekirei's responsibility. I had to trust them and leave this into their hands. 

My hand connected with the handle and Miya disappeared from from the corner of my range of vision, seemingly teleporting from where she had just stood. The door of the container was lit up with roaring blue light as it descended behind me. 

Death was imminent. 

But Benistubasa had other plans. My fist-type sekirei stepped in on behalf of my wellbeing, knocking the sword aside and punching Miya in the gut. The pillar hardly reacted to the heavy blow, which wasn't too surprising. 

What was surprising was that when chaotic pink energy exploded out of Beni-chan's body, that Miya actually bothered to dodge out of the way as the sparkling martial artist unleashed a barrage of "Shredders". The twisting strikes made buzzing noises as they whiffed past. The Pillar jumped back and flicked out the energy blade, which sliced off a few strands of pink hair. The pinkette managed to dodge, barely, but she did, scooting back before shooting forward again, closing the distance. 

I activated "Encouraging Shout", giving them a boost, even as the shrieking sound of crackling electricity starting up. Haihane had joined the fight, attacking No. 1 from behind. Miya whipped her sword of light around, holding off both of her attackers at once with swift, mechanical and measured motions. Haihane blocked with her knives, but they were bisected. She threw the worthless objects away, only to spawn two more in their place. At the same time, Benitsubasa kicked at her spine from behind, but the purple haired woman seemed to have eyes on the back of her head. She easily disengaged away from both of them and the three of them faced each other. Right before they just vanished. 

The only evidence that they were still in the area was the sounds of high speed movement and the occasional sound of something being smashed. 

I ignored the life or death fight going on somewhere around me and lifted the handle for the container. The heavy metal door swung open with a creak and I heaved it to the side. 

"Matsu!" It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dark interior of the container, the cell, but when they had I wasted no time rushing to the tangle of white and red splayed out haphazardly in the far corner. 

I ended up standing over her, looking down, noting the disheveled nature of her clothing, that breezy little white cheongsam utterly ruined by the rough treatment she had received at the hands of her captors. So much so, that the milky white flesh of her large tits were clearly visible from the tear made down the hem of her dress's collor. Somthing that could of only been done intentionally. I noted the bruises about her thighs, neck and the finger shaped marks on her tit's flesh. 

Suddenly I didn't feel too bad about the massacre I had just got done participating in. 

'God, she looks so small.' I gulped. Matsu was actually a few inches taller than Benitsubasa, but right now, in the dark, dirty cramped interior of this cage, she looked like she'd just about shatter if I picked her up. Fragile. 

As a result, any excitement about this long awaited moment I might of been harboring fell completely flat. 

"I've got you." With nary a grunt, I bent over and lifted Sekirei-02 into my arms, gently picking up the unconsicious woman with the same level of care one would use when transporting priceless china, or historical artifacts. I stood up straight and held close one of my oldest objectives. 

I had said it before when I saw her online for the first time, even as beat up and out of sorts as she was now, she was still sublimely beautiful. 

"I'll have to tell you that to your face." I whispered, just for her ears, before I turned and booked it out of the container and back into the smoke filled hellscape. I bounced up the side of a building and was soon moving above the streets. It was there that I was met with quite the sight. 

I had known the girls were somwhat safe through the bond, but it was a relief to visually confirm that for a fact. But, there was something different. Where once two  had fought against one in a unexpectedly lopsided two on one, it was now a still lopsided affair, albeit now three on one. 

I didn't immediately recognize the veiled sekirei who was currently attempting to restrain the Sekirei Queen with a mass of thin gauzy cloth. Said material moved like it was alive, snaking around Miya's limbs and attempting to trap the purple haired woman within its coils. 

But as expected, the Pillar wasn't having any of it. As I approached the battlefield, she had grabbed hold of the offending material and began drawing it in hand over hand. Thinking quick, my sekirei took advantage of her distraction and charged in from either side. I boosted their physical abilities with the buff as I came to a stop. I held the still unconscious Matsu to my chest and looked down the sight of a pistol.

Abusing "Bullet Time", I observed the engagement long enough to know that it wasn't going well. A portion of the roof collapsed from one of Benitsubasa's charged kicks. Pointless, as Miya dodged and sprinted past the explosion, pulling the length of fabric with her. The veiled sekirei shouted as she was yanked off her feet and drug behind the rapidly advancing Pillar. Her target was Haihane, who had backed off momentarily to prepare a lunging strike. 

I winced when my sekirei had to dodge a manifested energy blade that almost bisected her. A second strike followed almost as soon as the first and Haihane was still in the process of completing her first evasive maneuver. She would of been sliced and diced, but I had a moment of pride when a size 6 women's boot knocked the blade off course and allowed Haihane to recover. 

"Die!" Benitsubasa yelled and tried to sweep the rampaging Miya off her feet with a low kick. Miya merely stared contemptuously at her, jumped over the kick and brought her fist down on my sekirei's skull in one smooth motion. Even at 75% slowed speed, I had barely followed the attack. I watched Beni slam into and through the rooftop with a explosion of  concrete and roof material. 

"Fuck!" I dropped my pistol and leaped forward to join the fray. I didn't know what I could do. I stopped myself, remembering the precious cargo that I was carrying. Matsu had still not stirred. I didn't know what she had been drugged with, but undoubtedly it was powerful stuff. "Fuck!" I cursed again before gently setting down the unconscious woman. I could feel Benitsubasa, she wasn't down for the count, but it was obvious from witnessing the past few moments that we were not ready for this. 

I had grossly underestimated the Pillar's strength. 

"Landlady! Please stop! I, I don't understand what is going on! They are trying to help Matsu right?" The veiled sekirei, who I now recognized to be Matsu's friend, confusedly exclaimed, her veils trying to encircle Miya again. It was obvious that she wasn't truly trying to hurt the purple haired woman, likely her goal was to restrain her. "Matsu wanted to meet with him!" 

It wasn't working very well. 

I leapt towards the struggling trio, racking my brain while trying to come up with a solution. Miya was clearly under the control of M.B.I., somehow. Us freeing Matsu had triggered that. 

I made it to the rooftop just in time to see a nearly frothing at the mouth Haihane generate a cloak of lightning and engage Miya in hand to knife close quarters combat. She had entered her Berserker state and while it narrowed the gap, it did not close it. Miya dodged a flurry of blazingly fast wild blows mid combo and next thing I knew, Haihane was launched into the air. 

I felt her pain through the bond, just as I had felt it when Beni had been hit. I partially healed their wounds remotely, then ordered Killer Queen to deploy "Sheer Heart Attack". My stand grabbed it's own hand and it smoothly detached, morphing into a strange turtle like tank device. A white skull shaped like the motif matching the one on my stand's leather accessories gave the basketball sized device a "face". 

"MUMMY GIRL! RUN!" I shouted in warning before Killer Queen casually lobbed the automated sub-stand towards the melee. 

"Look over here!" A deep voice cried and it took me a second to realize that the tank like bomb had spoken. With a screeching sound the thing's treads revved up and it took off like a rocket, crawling along the rooftop with surprising speed for something appearing so cumbersome.

"What?" Uzume, that was her name I recalled, asked over her shoulder, her flowing weapons still whipping around like a clothesline in a hurricane. 

"RUN UZUME!" I screamed and thankfully the sekirei took my warning to heart, disengaging and leaping back. Unfortunately that left myself as the primary target and Miya turned to face me, absolute ruination promised on her stern face. Energy seemed to crackle around her as she held up her hand. That swirling nexus of power seemed to coalesce around the outstretched appendage; gathering into a quickly growing ball.

I had no doubt that I would be completely vaporized if that hit me. Entrenchment or not. 

Thankfully, Sheer Heart Attack completed it's mad sprint and reached her before I could find out for sure. The tracked bomb sprang off the ground and clung to the side of the Pillar's body, driving up her leg and onto the center of her chest. 

Momentary confusion came over Miya's face as she tried to determine the source of the invisible attack, but she had scant few seconds before the rock band inspired weapon delivered its mighty payload. 

I was knocked right on my ass by the powerful blast wave that came at me and despite my skill regarding resistance to explosives, I felt both of my ear drums rupture. Like ice picks shoved in my ears, that was the beat way to describe it and I quickly engaged "Trauma Kit" to soothe the agonizing pain. I rolled over onto front, but was hoisted up, Benitsubasa's crimson eyes looking at me with concern. The short sekirei's hoodie was covered in rock dust and rips and there was a quickly healing contusion on the top of her head from the brutal blow that had been delivered. 

"Hey, Monkey! Say something!" Her voice was tense and I feel the guilt and worry coming off of her in waves. 

"Something." I weakly joked and she let me go with a sigh, "I'm fine. Fine." I patted her on the head, but for once she didn't complain. "New technique." Something landed behind me and another one a second later. 

"Ashikabi-sama!" Haihane, recovered from her Berserker state, bowed her head. "I have failed to keep you safe! Please punish me!" 

I waved her off, but before I could get into it, Uzume interrupted. 

"What the hell is going on here? Why is Miya-dono attacking you!" The shapely brunette's hood had fallen down and revealed her pretty features. 

"She's being controlled by MBI. I don't know how." I answered, eyeing the still smoking rubble that had once been a big chunk of building. The blast from "Sheer Heart Attack" had been powerful, as attested to by the blast crater penetrating downwards two stories. "We need to go, I don't think-" Benitsubasa's eyes widened and she roughly grabbed me by the shirt and mashed her lips against my own. 

In the next few moments a few things happened simultaneously. Pink wings exploded out of the Red sekirei's back. I felt a powerful burst of power coming through the bond from Benitsubasa and running back to me. 

The feeling of movement, my arm being yanked painfully as I was literally swept off my feet. 

Finally the feeling that I had come to associate with impending danger, stemming from the skill "Battle Rhythm", drilled itself into my head.

A flash of blinding light. 

Displacement. One moment I was in one place and the next I was somewhere else, my brain pulling sensory information in like desperate as I tried to regain my mental footing. 

"Ugh that was close. I don't think she links ya' very much Monkey-kun." Benitsubasa dropped my arm as we both stared at the place across the street we occupied a split second ago. 

"What?" I popped my dislocated arm back into place, too shocked to really feel any pain. 

There was a sound like a mess of pebbles rolling down a rocky slope, then the whole building began to shake. I watched in horrified fascination as the entire structure seemed to sag inwards and collapse on itself, the results of whatever attack our enemy had unleashed slicing through an entire four story apartment complex like a sheet of paper. 

"Heh, looks like its time to get serious." Benitsubasa chuckled, but I could hear an undertone of fear. I could feel it too. 

'Haihane!' I mentally panicked, searching for her in the bond. I let out a breath when I found her. But she felt weak. "Find her, where is Haihane!" I yelled to Benitsubasa, who was still staring at the far end of the building, through the haze as the nearest section of building threw up a veritable snowstorm of dust. 

"No." She frowned, still not taking her eyes from the other location. "We will protect you. She would agree, that that is what matters." Benitsubasa's voice was uncharacteristically stern. I could feel power radiating off her in waves, more than I ever had before. 

"This must be your Norito." I murmured, sending "Encouraging Shout", imparting its healing ability on Haihane; wherever she had ended up, it was all I could do. 

The Norito was a sekirei's "Final Technique", a powerful ability unlocked by the repeating of the contract between them and their ashikabi. Powering up through a kiss. So silly.

There in the swirling dust, a figure was slowly coming into focus. Spindly and feminine, blue energy arced off of it and bounced around the surviving metal rooftop structures. The Pillar had survived "Sheer Heart Attack". She stood completely nude, her outfit having been incinerated by the explosive attack's extreme heat. Eye's brightly glowing, I could see even from here that she had not been injured in the slightest. 

"Hey, Monkey. Take four eye's and get outta here. You're dead weight." My sekirei none-to-gently kicked the still unconscious Matsu, whom we had ended up next to. 

"I can't! This is too dangerous, we need to retreat, we need to-" I wracked my brain, looking for some way out, desperately searching for an answer. Nothing. There wasn't a solution. Perhaps I was panicking, perhaps I wasn't as smart as I thought I was. Again arrogance had led me here and this time it wasn't going to be only me that paid the price for my hubris. 'But we have to try.' That was it. I could feel Haihane's pain through our connection. 'Count her out.'  

"There's no retreat Monkey. Not for us. If ya' don't wanna leave, how about we just give it our best?" Benitsubasa smiled grimly and I nodded. I guess she figured out that Miya could run us down easily if we tried to flee. The aforementioned woman had begun gathering energy again, no doubt anticipating our defeat with this next move. I didn't understand why she wasn't attack right away, but I also wouldn't complain about any extra time given to us. Just another thing I didn't understand. 

"Here," I materialized, explosively charged and tossed an Imperial Guard forged bayonet to the girl in front of me. "Try to stick that in her, maybe we can damage her from the inside." I shrugged and she nodded. 

"Sure, why not? But first let me try something." She unleashed her Norito and lit up the surrounding area with swirling flame like light. 

"Fwooosh!" Another powerful blast raced towards us, almost too quick to perceive. This time MIya followed in it's wake, appearing to tire of the game. I didn't even bother to engage with her, grabbing Matsu and bounding away again.  

Blue light met pink and clashed as the two alien's traded blows for a third time. This time however, Benitsubasa was giving a much better showing. She pounded away at Miya's lazy defenses, throwing combos and spinning kicks. Miya dodged most of them, blocked the rest. The difference in level was just too great. Bright light flicked out and next thing I knew, my ally was bleeding from a gash on her chest. 

The pinkette growled and pushed the Pillar away. 

"Soul Explosion!" LIke a shounen protagonist, my sekirei announced her move, the ultimate attack taking the form of a giant wave of dark pink that expanded in the 360 degree ball of pulsing energy. It must of been dangerous, because MIya moved with much more haste to escape than before. In those few seconds, Beni's body rose up on it's own. She hovered in place, floating as everything around her was sucked inwards about an inch and then pulverized and blown away. The building collapsed in on itself, making that the second of which we had leveled today. 

I felt a large amount of that extra energy that Benitsubasa had acquired through the renewal of our contract be expended, the norito complete. She fell on top of the newly created rubble and looked around, quickly spotting our foe sitting above her on the precipice of the ruined top story. 

"Darn it!" the pink haired sekirei wailed, seeing that her gamble had amounted to nothing. We both watched the calculation go through the violet haired woman's mind, before her eyes trailed upwards and fixed on me. "NO!" The cry came from below, a split second before I was attacked again. This time it wasn't a projectile blast, she took things into her own hands, appearing in front of me and punching me right in the jaw.

Ask me another time and I would of thought it funny, a woman a full foot shorter than me, socking me in the face like a heavyweight title holding boxer.  

My stamina bar dropped to zero as "Entrenchment" was blown away, along with half of my H.P. I distinctly felt my jaw shatter like a snow globe pitched in a batting cage, my front teeth pushed to the back of my throat. I slammed into concrete edge of the roof and gagged on the teeth now loose in my mouth. Blood quickly filled the orifice, and I had to spit out a tremendous gob of ruined red flesh onto the concrete. I awaited the final blow, knowing that I would not survive. For Crown and Country allowed me to still move, but that didn't mean the pain was lessened any. The gravel coated rooftop was rough under my palms as I pulled myself up the low wall that I had smashed into. 

"Nsh retreash." I gurgled, laughing internally as the realization that the "campaign" hadn't even really begun and our party was already going to get wiped. "Hsh, hsh, hsh." My ski-mask dripped down the front of my printed shirt, soggy from the flow of blood pouring forth. 

It hurt to laugh. 

It would hurt even more to lose. 

So I steeled myself for what was to come. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Ashikabi-sama!" Haihane cried out painfully, trying to shift the massive pile of rubble that had pinned her to the ground with a wince. A large portion of the collapsed building had fallen on top of her after she was rendered senseless. 

The last thing she had remembered was fighting with the boogeyman, the myth, the first Sekirei and then Sogen-kun had been under attack and she had moved to protect him. Just not as fast as Benitsubasa. Her friend had reacted faster, shamefully so, and Haihane had been left behind to fend for herself against the incontestable power of her better. 

She tried to shift the tremendous weight that was compressing her chest, but the unstable mass reacted poorly, shifting dangerously and she was forced to stop. Perhaps more concernedky was the fact that she couldn't breathe. All that weight on her chest, it wasn't able to move. The lack of a natural bodily function was distressing, but she still hadn't blacked out. In fact, it seemed to not matter much at all. Other than not being able to speak, it seemed that breathing was a voluntary function for her kind. What a way to find out. 

With nothing else to occupy her time, she inspected her surroundings more carefully. The HP bar at the corner of her vision was down a third, but was slowly being replenished by Sogen's use of skills. Indeed her wounds, which had rendered her jacket soaked and induced a "bleeding" status, had subsided somewhat, though she was still "Bleeding". Haihane watched as her health bar slowly withered away. 

'At least its not over yet.' Indeed, she could feel Sogen and Benitsubasa still fighting. She redoubled her efforts to break free, but the she just didn't have enough room to move! 

"Eh? What-? Hold on! Just wait!" A muffled voice sounded and moments later the mass of rubble was shifted slightly. "Ugrhh!" The woman grunted and the chunk of concrete lifted a few inches higher. "Hurry!" Her savior's voice was strained. 

It was enough, the few inches given to her allowed Haihane's powerful limbs to find leverage and with a burst of strength she pushed up and freed herself. Scrabbling backwards, she shuffled out from under it escaping her confinement. As soon as she was clear, the heavy burden was released, slamming back onto the ground with a hearty boom. 

"Hah, hah, heavy!" Her rescuer panted with her hands on her knees, turning out to be none other than the mysterious veiled sekirei that had assisted them earlier. "That looks pretty bad." Her veil had fallen, revealing a statuesque chin and soft brown eyes that glanced downwards. She gestured to the large gash on Haihane's stomach, that while cauterized, was deep enough to allow a ridge of pale gray to poke through. 

She grunted in reply, taking a strip of cloth out of her inventory and gently pushing the slippery intestines back inside her abdomen. She hissed in pain, before applying the bandage and killing the "Bleeding" effect. The skin knitted together under her hand and when she pulled it away there was only thin red line remaining. 

"Or not." The other sekirei looked at her warily, but she didn't have any time to spare in explaining. She had already failed once and she was not going to let it happen again. "Excuse me, I get the mask, but you ARE one of Nobe-san's sekirei right?" Her rescuer inquired.

"Yes." Haihane responded quickly, knowing that time was undoubtedly not on her side. She had to get back in the fight. 

No matter how slim the chance of victory might seem, she would never give up.

She jumped back up out of the debris, uncaring if the other followed.

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

An invisible figure landed atop of a parking structure and breathed in the heavy scent of death. Black slit like eyes drank in the aftermath of the destruction, a battle well fought. The mysterious figure made her way down to the street level, perching on the top of a stoplight as she surveyed the area.

"You keep doing it, don't you? Filth." She knew this had been his doing. The bastard. The splattered remains of both sekirei and human's carelessly tossed around the street. Over a dozen of the human vehicles lay in pieces. The slaughter had been merciless. 

Vicarious joy sang in her breast.

The sound of a nearby explosion drew her attention away from the cooling battlefield, she noted that it turned came from the same direction that maddeningly continued to pull on her core. That she had been running from.

Yet, here she was again. Seemingly exiting a trance in the exact position she had been seeking to avoid. 

The black sekirei shook her head, her unruly grey tangle of hair swaying back and forth. Her wounds had mostly scabbed over, the accelerated healing of her kind still working as intended. Her clothes were utterly ruined and her skin was still stained with grease and char. Not that anyone could see her sorry state being that as she was currently invisible to the naked eye. Well the thinking of worms would of normally never been a concern of hers, but she was preoccupied with the infernal burning desire that had only steadily grown more painful as time progressed.

It was eating away at her, like a swarm of flies on a day old carcass. Wasting away at the very foundations of the long held convictions upon which she had built the unassailable fortress of her being. The ultimate certainty of her supremacy and place I'm the world. Undermined and brought low by such a simple thing. 

Everyday, it seemed like she lost a little more of that unshakable reality to this damnable curse! 

She loathed herself for not having the conviction to remove this pestilence with her own blood stained hands. Instead, she had scurried away like a coward into the dead of affairs

Karasuba punched her hands into the wall in front of her and scaled the side of the building using the handholds she created. She reached the top just in time to see a pink ball of swirling flame expand and light up the dark.

"Tch, flashy." She huffed, making her way closer and closer until she could make out clear details of the scene unfolding before her. The alien misanthrope's sharp vision picked up the details quickly as she stopped on top of a nearby rooftop stairwell. 

'There you are.' The black sekirei smiled wickedly as she reveled in the sorry state of the man who had utterly ruined her life. She could never mistake him for another, even while he worse that ridiculous mask. Beaten and cowed, he stood with his back to the edge, blood dripping down the front of his shirt. 'Yes, suffer for me.' A few feet was away another sekirei, who she presumed was the pink runaway that had absconded with the object of her ire, who was engaged in a desperate fight. Despite being masked like the man, she recognized the unmistakable pink energy she was utilizing in her attacks. 'Little insect.' Karasuba grimaced, recalling the sheer temerity of the other sekirei in taking what was HERS! She mentally growled at the remembered slight before forcefully calming herself, 'Well, it's not like she'll survive this.' 

Because out of all people, her opponent was none other than Sekirei No. 01. Which was perhaps the most surprising thing that had she had experienced today. Seeing that the elder woman was stark naked was probably the second. 

"Pah." The long legged sekirei spat, resisting the urge to join the bloodletting. Outside of Yume, Miya was second on her list of people she had set herself up to destroy. Unlike the Sekirei of Destiny, this desire had less to do with proving the truthful weight behind her words and more to do with dethroning the declared alpha of her species.

Knowing that her strength was being looked down upon in comparison to the purple haired woman's really got under her skin in a way that many things couldn't. It made her feel inadequate. Like the disgusting apes that she so despised, that state of affairs could not stand! 

Her pride as the deadliest creature on this pathetic planet demanded it!

Her hand itched and she instinctively reached for her katana, only to grasp empty air. She had misplaced her sword after fleeing the tower. The embarrassing oversight left her feeling flushed, but also brought clarity to her mind again. 

'I'll wait for her to take out the trash.' She decided, sitting down cross legged and observing the duel taking place. It was not going well for her pink haired junior. 'Then I'll slaughter her.'

Annoyingly, her eyes kept drifting to the human that was now crouched awkwardly to the side, tending to something or someone out of sight. 

She watched as he finished whatever it was he had been doing and rushed to join the doomed fight. 

"Weak." She observed, noting how slow his movements were in comparison to the others. Really, he had been just lucky in their last engagement, using trickery to make a fool out of her in the most humiliating way imaginable! 'He'll pay. I will make him suffer hell for his arrogance!' 

Still, the human and sekirei pair were putting up a valiant show of resistance, but the conclusion was certain the moment they had decided to fight against someone who even she would have difficulty contending with. She giggled when the human pulled back his hand after an attempted punch, nursing his now unnaturally bent digit. 

'That's going to be the least of your concerns little roach, I'll keep you groveling at my feet, until the day you die!' 

Even when two others joined in, that situation did not change. The white haired one from the latest failed iteration of the Disciplinary squad and a scantily clad and hooded sekirei who controlled ribbons. 

Karasuba grinned as she watched No. 1 systematically dismantle the attackers in a fluid yet effortless manner. The annoying chatterbox was punted off the roof and the white haired door mat was knocked to the ground and brutally stomped down on. Seeing her fellows fall, the veiled sekirei hesitated, something that Karasuba knew was deadly when facing this level of threat. Sensing weakness, the purple haired demigoddess yanked the encircling fabric and drew her towards her and straight into a waiting knee that bent her in half. 

'They're lucky she's unarmed.' She mused as the last sekirei fell over on her side, leaving THAT man as the last one standing. She had personally witnessed what Miya was capable of when she had a solid weapon in hand. She watched in anticipation as the woman who had been called "The Demon of Kamakura" turned to face the bastard. Visage blank, the pillar waited, as if mocking the man. "Just give up insect." She whispered, willing the man to die as painful a death as possible. It would be both a delicious and a well deserved end for someone as wretched as he.

The Black Sekirei frowned. 

Something about that didn't seem right. 

'That's right, I said you were mine to kill...' Karasuba admitted, watching as the man pulled his bloody mask up and off of his head, revealing the battered black and blue visage underneath. He said something that she couldn't hear and suddenly surged forward. On final pointless show of defiance. In the light of the city's artificial lighting, the scene looked surreal.

"Mine." She mumbled, the nagging fires of desire stoking something ugly and possessive in her guts. 

If she just let this happen, Yume could still be proven wrong! She wasn't bonded, she would be physically fine. This horrible reality would be gone! Her greatest shame would be corrected and she would be free once again. Free of this accursed destiny that had brought her so low. 

'Yes, it's for the best.' Karasuba sighed in half resignation and half relief directly before her knife's blade sunk into No. 1's exposed chest. 

'MINE!'

The Black Sekirei's eyes opened wide, unable to even recall when exactly she had moved. 

"Wha-what?"

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

"Nobe-san." I heard a weak voice come from behind me as Benitsubasa reengaged with the Pillar. "Is that you?" 

"Matsu! Are you okay!" My voice was still mushy from having my teeth punched out, but I hurried over to her anyways, knowing that the best my sekirei could do was buy us some time. I knelt and propped her up against the low wall. The ginger haired brain type was awake, though she still looked dazed.

"Thank you for rescuing me but-" Her voice was pleading, her burnt orange eyes full of guilt. 

"Of course I-" she interrupted me, grabbing me by the bloody shirt. 

"NO! I don't want...I don't want anymore people to get hurt..for me! You can't win against her, it's not...I'm not worth it." She sounded tortured and my mind wandered go the dozens of soldiers I had slaughtered for my own desires. For hersent

It was a little late for that. 

"Shhh." I shushed her, "I'm the one who gets to decide that." I gently placed my hand on the side of her cheek. "I told you before, you are worth it to me. Let us save you." My statement forced a deep blush on her pale skin and she looked away. 

"I...fine. So, this is how it is." She relented and then tilted her head slightly to the side. Inviting 

I wasted no time, kissing her deeply with my ruined mouth, painting her chin red with my blood. 

The redheaded alien's body convulsed as her wings appeared, the contract completed as our souls were linked.  

"Wisdom of my pledge, bestow the teachings of the world, to my Ashikabi! Sekirei No. 2 Matsu.." She whispered with an air of finality and I felt her appear in the absolute cluster-fuck that was our shared bond. She was a mess of emotions and for second my mind reeled with the influx of potent feelings.

"New Companion Added: Matsu has joined the party!" The game cheerfully supplied via notification and I shakily stood. 

"I'm weak, I cannot fight." She shamefully admitted, still remaining seated. I could feel her fighting against the heavy effects with whatever she had been injected with. "I cannot..." She whimpered and I shook my head.

"It's fine, we got this! Just try to think of a solution!" I turned and rejoined the fight, deploying Killer Queen to deflect an energy blast that had been launched at the battered Benitsubasa. The blue energy ball skimmed off the back of the stand's hand and flew into the sky. 

Miya looked at the invisible limb with confusion, giving myself and the punch prone pinkette a momentary breather. 

"Done messing around monkey? Hope this was worth it!" She snarled rubbing her hand against a bruised forearm. I ignored her comment and took a fighting stance. 

"Together." She nodded firmly and we attacked our enemy from two directions. She went high, with spinning heel kick that was intercepted with contemptuous ease. I went for a series of body blows, using my own arms and blocking a retaliatory strike with Killer Queen's knee. My punches made I through, hitting the Sekirei Queen's side, seeking her kidneys. 

The human hand has 27 bones in it. With that single punch I felt like I jad broken about half of them. 

"Shit!" Without the magical bullshittery of "Piercing Thrust" hitting Miya was akin to pre-reincarnation me slamming my fist directly into a concrete wall. "What the hell are you made out of?" I obeyed my game given instincts and Double Jumped out of the way of a counterstroke. Miya obviously didn't answer, turning her attention back to Benitsubasa who tried to sneak a hammer fist the side of her head. 

"Whatever it is, it can't be harder than your thick skull baka!" My sekirei hissed, actually managing to connect with her target, but as usual not really coming away with anything of significance. Miya did not let her succeed again, weaving around the following blows much to the hotheaded girl's frustration. "Gah! Stay. Still. So. i. Can. Crush. You!" 

"Ashikabi-sama!" A familiar voice informed me of my other sekirei's return. 

"Haihane!" I celebrated that she appeared to be unharmed and the lanky girl immediately moved to assist Benitsubasa. 

"Onee-chan!" The veiled sekirei yelled but my newest sekirei merely waved her off. 

"I'm fine, help them!" Matsu shifted upright and wiped my blood off of her chin.

"Hai!" Uzume launched her fabric at the target, the super maneuverable material sweeping around and attacking from behind in what would presumably be a blind spot. 

"You...you...need to overwhelm her. She, she can't use her bigger energy attacks at close range." Matsu gestured with her hands making an explosion. 

I nodded, unsure of how useful that would be. I held my breath as my sekirei were forced to dodge around like they were playing the worlds worst game of keep away the moment those deadly energy blades reemerged. A hair's breadth from death, I dared not distract them for even a moment. 

Fooled by the status quo, I dared to hope that it would work out. That we could do it, working together. That it wouldn't end here, with failure. My failure. 

I ducked as something pink and yellow went flying over my head, watching helplessly as Benitsubasa was sent flying off the roof. Without the fist type's offensive capabilities, Haihane found herself increasingly hard pressed to ward off the never ending cavalcade of Miya's merciless strikes. A pebbled on the ground, a fraction of a second wasted and she succumbed, knocked down to the ground where she lay still.

Continuing her streak, next it was Uzume's turn and before I knew it she was joining the other two in defeat.

Brushing her hands on her robe, Miya turned to face me. I was enraged to see a look of pity on that porcelain face.

"Goddamit!" I spat a piece of tooth that had rolled to the front of my mouth. "Well come on, let's do this then!" I reactivated my buffs for probably the last time in nothing more than a show of pure bravado. My hand felt like it was on fire as I made a claw, the rest of my body not feeling much better. 

"You should of listened." Sekirei No. 1 sadly stated, forming the energy blade that would soon end my life. "They will regret this. I swear I will make M.B.I. pay for impugning his legacy." She made a slashing motion with the blade and I sighed deeply. Unlike many of the usual people who fucked with my life, I couldn't really be angry with her. It wasn't her fault. This is just how things turned out. 

What a bummer. 

"Whatever." A particularly dark thought came to me and my heart sank as I realized that I had basically doomed Matsu by winging her. Doomed all of them. 

Because as their ashikabi, when I died, they would deactivate along with me. 

It was romantic, in a twisted sort of way. 

It was also cruel beyond belief. 

"Nobe-san," Matsu's sorrowful voice was heavy with regret, "Even though we...well, I'm glad I met you." I turned and gave her a smile. Her eyes were watery and she had clasped her hands over her chest as she spoke.

To be honest, I was at a loss for the correct words to express just how much it meant for me to hear that.

"I'm glad I met you too." I looked around, "Might as well go out in a blaze of glory, right?" On my mental command, Killer Queen reached down and pressed its hand against the rooftop's surface. I willed it to put as much power into the charge as possible. 'Game over, eh? Sorry Mom, guess I'll be checking out a little early.'  

I wondered briefly what would happen when I died this time? Would I die for good this time? Reincarnate in another world? 

'Just one more chance. I swear, next time, next time I'll win for sure. Escape this bullshit fate.' I closed my eyes, relying on the warning of "Battle Rhythm" to tell me when to detonate. 'Escape...escape?"

Eh, as last words went, they were alright. Suit-

I slapped my hand against my face and dragged it down. 

"God, I'm such a fucking idiot." I lambasted myself for not thinking of this before, pulling my mask off and throwing it to the side.

"Dungeon Create"

The doorway appeared in front if me and I launched myself at it as fast as I could. I had lectured the girls on using everything at their disposal when it came to fighting and yet I had manages to neglect the biggest cheat ability that I had.

I would use the most important resource at my disposal to hopefully correct this mistake. 

Time. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

The world faded away as I entered the dungeon menu, time coming to a stop. The black void surrounded me once again. 

I let out a mental breath, trying to bring myself into some sembelence of calm. I sat there for moment, processing everything that had just happened and trying to sort through it all. 

I had fucked up royally. And it wasn't over yet. Time wouldn't pass as long as we remained inside. Miya would still be there when we went back. 

It was only a time out, given as a desperate act in the final few seconds of a blowout. 

'No. We can fix this. Figure something out.'

I didn't know if the girls would accompany me to the dungeon. Last time we had been physically connected, this time there hadn't been time for that.

I looked through the options available. I knew I was on the precipice of getting attaining level 40 and presumably a new talent after.  

'But that's a crap shoot, it could just as likely be something completely inane.' I hadn't even bothered to use "King Engine" during the last fight. Not all talents were created equally after all and my luck was just as likely to shit the bed as it was to pull out a win. The same went for the gatcha pull. 

For that though, we would need to dungeon crawl a new space where we could earn XP. Leveling up the girls seemed prudent. They had been much more useful than I had been during the battle. 

I prayed to R.O.B. that I could bring the girls along. 

'Alright let's see what we're working with.' The next available option after "Human Revolution" was titled "Doomed". It didn't take too much mental work to figure out what THAT was referencing. 

'Rip 'n' tear until it's done.' I mentally went thtough what I would could probably be encountering on the other side. 'Demons, cyber-demon's, imps and zombies oh my.' 

All else fails, at least I could give my life a proper send off. Bitch and moan, feel bad for myself. An extra hour or so to get all dramatic and depressed. 

At least it was a chance. 

I entered the dungeon. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

When she had woken up this afternoon, Matsu never could of expected her life to be ending like this. There had been hope, knowing that her possible Ashikabi would soon be entering her life. The possibility of finally finding her soulmate and becoming complete, those had been what she had been expecting with the utterly alien feeling of optimism that had recently descended.

Then it had all went to hell. 

After she had been drugged, she had thought it would be over. No doubt M.B.I. would tear her apart, looking for whatever secrets they felt she was keeping. In fact the last look she had gotten of Sahashi-sensei had pretty much promised as much.

She didn't think she had ever possessed as much hatred as what she had seen the scientist express with just one look at that moment. 

Despite everything, that had still hurt. 

So she had assumed that had been that. With Miya on the leash of M.B.I., no one would be dumb enough to try anything. And if someone did....

She would not add more misery into the world for her sake. 

The next complete memory she had was awakening on this rooftop in the middle of a sekirei duel. Her mind had still been foggy when she awoke, but she had been cognizant enough to realize that she had been decidedly wrong. Someone had come. 

Foolishly, stupidly. 

"Nobe-san. Is that you?" She thought she recognized the man's build, but she couldn't be sure and with her vision limited with the loss of her glasses it was a real possibility she was wrong. It also didn't help that when he turned to face her he was wearing a face concealing mask. More concerning, she noted that he was wounded, quite obviously so. Red stained his shirt and arms and was continuing to drip. 

"Matsu! Are you okay!" Thankfully his voice was recognizable to her immediately, deep and full of concern as he knelt down next to her. Strong hands assisted her in sitting upright. At his touch she felt a jolt of energy pass through her body. Admittedly, it cleared some of the brain fog away, but other than that she felt nothing. 

Nothing! And that worried her. 

'Are we not compatible? Is, is he not the one?' Whatever glimmer of hope she had felt in recent days was crushed mercilessly as her guilt came rushing back in full force. 

"Thank you for rescuing me but-" she tried to explain that it was pointless! This was all a waste! He wasn't her destined one, he never was! 

Forlornly she looked past him, to where the two women were still engaged in a frenzied duel. One was his pink haired sekirei and the other was the one she feared the most right now. Miya was brutalizing the smaller woman, who despite her best efforts, could just not keep up. Even worse, even in her confusion, she could see that No. 1 was not yet going all out. After all she knew firsthand that this paltry showing was not nearly approaching the limits of her power. Convinced she needed to take a stand, she focused back on the tall man in front of her, his giant frame looming overhead despite his kneeling, yet the words still died in her throat.

How could she tell him that she wasn't destined to be his? That this was wrong! Looking at his bloodied face and shredded clothes, she could see how much he had already sacrificed.

He had risked it all. 

'He fought against her of all people. For me?' It was another uncomfortable thought, one that left her feeling even worse than she had before. In fact, she didn't think she could of sunk any lower, but here she was. Feeling like a heavy weight had settled itself on her tiny shoulders. It reminded her of when she had first been saddled with task greater than herself, guarding Asama-sensei's final wish. Not entirely of her own volition and at times feeling like she was being swept along a vast and uncaring river. 

"Of course I-" He started, but she didn't want to hear it so she bulldozed onward. 

"NO! I don't want...I don't want anymore people to get hurt..for me! You can't win against her, it's not...I'm not worth it."  A finger pressed lightly against her lips and he drew in closer. His light blue eyes hypnotized her for a moment, lulling her into an unplanned silence. 

"Shhh. I'm the one who gets to decide that." So lovingly, painfully, his huge rough hand cupped her cheek, causing here to involuntarily blush. "I told you before, you are worth it to me. Let us save you." 

It was an honest plea straight from the heart of the man before her. That much she could tell and truth be told, it moved something inside of her. It wasn't the all encompassing rush that she had expected from what little she knew of the reaction. 

Instead, it felt natural to feel this way. 

'I want him.' It felt traitorous, a betrayal to the very concept of destiny that had been drilled into her from birth. Torn between two desires, biological and of the heart, she was utterly lost as what she should do. 

Eventually something had to give. 

"I...fine. So, this is how it is."  The Sekirei of Wisdom submitted completely. 'Even if it means the end. This actually isn't so bad. With someone like you.' She didn't really know this man, but liked to think she knew enough. She had to trust this new intuition to not lead her astray.

Still, Matsu knew herself enough to know that she would much rather face death by her own decision rather than the at the whims of some sadistic lab coat. She had already failed her mission after all, the jinki was lost. There was nothing holding her back. Miya-dono would kill Nobe-san and she would follow him. This was her choice. 

Nobody could take that from her.

Sekirei No. 2 slightly opened her dry lips, inviting him in. Just like she remembered seeing in a thousand romantic dramas, she awaited his reaction with baited breath.

She didn't have to wait for long. His lips were on hers almost without hesitation. So desperate was the need for her expressed in that kiss that her mind blanked for a solitary second. Matsu's eidetic memory working overtime to secure that precious moment forever in the vault of her mind. She tasted blood as his big tongue forced past her virgin lips and animalistically violated her chaste mouth with its demanding oresence. 

She felt something emerge from her upper back as the sekirei crest was formed with the completion of their contract. 

'Is this it? I... oh OH!' A divine mix of pleasure and power in equal measure suffused every inch of her body as she felt a bridge form between the infinite space between two individuals, the blazing hot energy working its way from his his body to her thirsty core. So great was the stimulation that she ended up orgasming. It was more intense than she had ever experienced before, the pathetic masturbatory acts that she had entertained all her life paling in comparison to the bliss offered by this! 

Most of all, when the crashing of waves settled and she lay there limply, she could feel him. 

All of him, from the fear to the anger to the desire to the damaging self hatred. And the love.

'Incredible.' It wasn't a technical measurement by any means, but it was the only way she could describe the phenomenon that she was now experiencing. 

"Wisdom of my pledge, bestow the teachings of the world, to my Ashikabi. Sekirei No. 2 Matsu.." The words came unbidden and instinctually, like they had always been meant to be said. She gazed at Nobe-san- no her Ashikabi and saw him for who he truly was. 

It thrilled and scared her. She looked away from his gaze, as she remembered their current situation.

"I'm weak, I cannot fight. I cannot..." She admitted weakness and she felt his reply even before he spoke back words of encouragement. He left her then, turning back to help the failing efforts of his other ward and the next few minutes passed in a blur. At some point, Uzume and another sekirei had joined the battle. 

She had been happy to see her little sister and horrified when Miya had dispatched her with a calm callousness that she never would of believed the woman to be capable of anymore. 

Of course, maybe this was the Pillar's true nature. Takami had only awoken it. 

The other two were similarly defeated and that left her alone with her Ashikabi, facing a monster that had destroyed entire nation's militaries almost on her lonesome. Nobe-san's fingers had been broken and even if they weren't, its not like he had ever stood a chance.

Even as... strange as he was. 

Her Ashikabi was not normal. The strange S&M fashioned purple cat monster that had appeared out of nowhere and fought on his behalf had kinda clued her in that maybe everything wasn't exact how it seemed. Honestly she was starting to have doubt's about what the hell she had gotten herself into! 

But still, strange psychic powers or whatever, in the end the result would stay the same. 

"Nobe-san, even though we...well, I'm glad I met you." She spoke honestly to the man that had helped to give her the strength to make her own way. He smiled back, as she awaited the end.

It was a goofy looking smile, as even without her glasses she could make out that most of his teeth were missing from where the Pillar had hit him, his jaw hanging slightly off center. She gave him a smile in return, albeit a sad one.

"I'm glad I met you too, might as well go out in a blaze of glory, right?" He chuckled, trying to sound cavalier, but she could hear the undertones of fear.

'It's alright Sogen.' 

The cat-like furry-fueled nightmare tapped the ground between her ashikabi's legs and a ring of energy spread on the ground below them both. Whatever it was, she was sure that it was meant to be a final act if defiance. 

'Maybe...this is a good end.'

Still, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow when Nobe-san palmed his face with the sort of self flagellation usually reserved for those suffering from acute embarrassment. 

"God, I'm such a fucking idiot." She stared at him in confusion, as the tone of his voice completely changed, like somebody realizing something simple that they had forgotten.

Her uncertainty lasted only for a second before the world disappeared in a flash of blinding light. Matsu felt her body being stretched and compressed down to nothing. She wanted to scream, but she had no mouth! A feeling of movement and then it was all over in an instant. 

The redheaded alien landed on her plump ass as the stench of burning sulfur and smoke assaulted her nose. The surface underneath her bum was hot to the touch and was definitely not where she had nust been previously. She looked around in desperation, noting the completely alien landscape around her. Where before they had been standing in the middle of the gigantic urban sprawl of Shinto Teito, now they had landed into a literal hellscape! 

Soot colored mountains stuck up like jagged teeth far in the distance, dozens of flowing rivers of molten lava flowed down the sides of rocky cliffs and pooled n lakes of pure fire. Overhead the sky was a mix of black and red, appearing to burn with the very same intensity as the volcanic activity below. The air was thick and warm and scattered around the vast infernal plain were cracked and bent spires of off colored white that must of reached dozens of meters into the air! 

Thoughts of hell and damnation spiraled round and round in her head. Sure, she hadn't been the most saintly person during her life (her internet browsing habits could attest to that fact) but that was a just human thing! 

"Hahaha! She fell right on her butt!" Someone cackled and she whirled around and faced the no doubt demonic entity that would soon begin her eternal damnation! 

The pink haired imp pulled down her yellow facemask and regarded her with a toothy grin. 

"Nice of you to join us Obaa-san! Didja forget your walking stick?" Another bout of mocking laughter greeted her as her fellow sekirei bent over in an exaggerated manner and held her lower back. "Ooh help! I've fallen and I can't get up! Bahahahaha!" The small pink haired girl straightened and held her sides, continuing to giggle, apparently unconcerned with their current predicament. 

"This is crazy." Matsu gripped her braid and gave it a jerk hoping to wake herself up from this horrible nightmare! But nothing changed and with a moan she covered her eyes and began rocking back and forth. "I was right, this is hell." 

"That's enough washboard, must I remind you what YOU did when we last made the trip?" Another voice, this one much more dignified proclaimed. 

"Oi! You wouldn't dare!" 

"Watch me." Matsu felt someone tap her on the shoulder and she looked up, coming face to face with the calm face of Haihane. "Are you injured?" 

"I'm...fine." Matsu replied accepted the offered hand and allowing herself to be pulled up to her feet. "What, what is going on? Where are we? What the hell happened?" The white haired sekirei looked like she was considering responding but someone else beat her too it. 

"We're where we need to be for what needs to be done." Nobe Sogen looked back at her from the edge of a nearby cliff, flexing his once mangled hand, showing that it had miraculously healed. His mask was gone and his lips were pressed tightly together. In the distance, wild crimson lightning strikes streaked against the sky in a steady beat. "Welcome to the team Matsu." His eyes burned with an intensity that made her chest feel tight. 

"Right, let's even the odds."  

Chapter Text

Lets Play: Sekirei

Chapter X

"Umm, ex...ex...excuse me, this is...you know, I specifically remember saying I'm not much of a fighter." The ginger haired otaku stuttered and stammered as she tipped forward, pinwheeling her arms and regaining her balance. 

I childishly poked her square in the back again, pushing her forward. 

"Name: Matsu - Sekirei 02
Level: 50
Title: The Sekirei of Wisdom
Race: Ssatho'Alopewii (Sekirei) - Winged
Age: 28
Karma: 72
Affiliation: Sekirei of Nobe Sogen
Emotional State: Nervous about meeting her new Ashikabi's expectations. 
HP: 68,750
SP: 84,000
>CBL: 0
>STR: 21
>CON: 25
>STA: 22
>DEX: 32
>INT: 46
>WIS: 50
>PER: 64"

I looked over my newest companion's stats, noting the rather lackluster physical traits she was imbued with. She wouldn't be much use when we got back.  

"You know, I never would of imagined you to be so timid." A step to the side allowed a severed arm to sail harmlessly past my head, a demonic roar cutting off abruptly as its former owner expressed their displeasure. "Are you only confident behind a screen Matsu-san?" 

"I'm not...look, what exactly do you want me to do?" She gestured at the slowly approaching horde of demons that were approaching the hillock we had claimed a position on. 

"Rip n' tear?" I blandly suggested before gently prodding her forward again. The meta reference flew over her head and she looked at me like I was crazy. 

"Look, not everyone is a reality-bending anomaly like you, some of us have to be realistic with our expectations of our-" 

"You're being boring." I flatly announced as she took the conversation back to the exposition laced dialog we had previously partaken in after arriving here. My newest sekirei had been understandably confused at the time, her analytical mind probably having difficulty reconciling the fresh tumultuous revelations with everything she had known up to be true up to that point. I could understand that, I could empathize. But still, it was a little annoying because Haihane and Benitsubasa hadn't really had a hard time with it. In fact it was probably unusual that Beni and Hane-chan had accepted it all so fast. 

My girls were special like that in a way that Matsu wasn't. Or maybe they just trusted me more. 

Of course after I showed her the incomprehensible proof that was Killer Queen and my equally inscrutable inventory, there wasn't much she could do to logically deny the tale we were spinning. 

"This is still ridiculous! It's like a bad isekai manga!" She had blurted out, her face flushed with frustration, hands gripping the air. 

I think a part of me died of embarrassment at that point. 

Reaching the foot of the hill the smaller faster members of the rampaging mob began to pull ahead. Imps, I recognized them as an enemy type from a video game I had played back from my first life.

The small pink humanoid demons, plucked straight out of the FPS series "DOOM", threw up their lanky arms towards the pair of us and launched a bevy of pink fireballs our way. The projectiles lazily arced through the air, but instead of dodging this time I ordered Killer Queen to bat the projectiles away. The cat-like stand's arms moved in a blur and the slowly moving "bullets" dissipated when they were met with the mystical projection's impenetrable skin. Or rather untouchable. I had feared that maybe these magic projectiles would be able to damage it. But actually...

"I guess they're not using magic or something..." I muttered and Matsu gave me a confused look. 

"What?"

"Not important, let's go!" I clapped my hands together and began to trundle forward, quickly gaining speed. I had been stalling, waiting until the swifter members of the mob had just reached halfway up the incline. 

"Wait!" Despite her relatively low physical stats, the buxom red head easily kept pace with me. Her dainty and unclad feet easily finding purchase on the uneven rocky ground. At the speed we were moving her tattered cheongsam flapped behind her.

"Fine, if you want, I'll go first." I knew that physical combat wasn't her specialty, but much like our last trip to the dungeon this was more akin to a test run for her willingness to follow my lead. The enemies I had Observed so far were a mix of mid level 30's and below. Numbers that weren't worrying. Especially not after my earlier showing against the specials.

Against Miya, they might as well of been birth-blind kittens. 

'This game is unbalanced as fuck.' I wasn't upset with that thought, especially since I would be the one benefiting from this. This was a hail mary after all. I needed to reach the next level and unlock whatever skill I had coming. Hopefully it would be something useful.

'I wonder if the girls will respawn at the portal when we go back?' I mentally asked, war-gaming the situation in my head. Though I quickly dismissed such optimistic thoughts. For that to be the case that'd be pushing my luck to the max. So instead I would have to plan for the worst. 

Moments before I reached the demonic front runner I activated my abilities and buffs, enjoying the now familiar feeling of instant power that rushed through my veins. Helpfully, the scene presented before me seemed to slow down as my mind's capabilities expanded. 

"Here!" At the last moment I jumped and leapfrogged over the lead Imp. The alien looking creature made an angry hissing sound and instinctively reached up to protect its face at the sudden maneuver. I scoffed at the feeble gesture and stomped. My sneaker threw the pink skinned monster forwards and it tumbled to the ground, stunned. Matsu squeaked as she skidded to a stop in front of my helpless offering. "Get some XP!" I half-joked, diverting my flight to the left with Double Jump. The redhead was still considering my words as I caught the next beastie unawares. I bicycle kicked it square in the skull, cleanly snapping its neck before landing on the ground and spinning towards the next in line. 

I flicked my hand out and my extended finger acted like a razor as I drew a line across the enemies pallid abdomen. I rolled away from a pair of shakily swatting claws and allowed Killer Queen to backhand an approaching imp. My Stand's brutal strike flung the fire throwing underworld dweller to the side, where it promptly detonated in a spectacularly gruesome fashion. 

"Just smash its head in or something." I snapped,  "You're an anomaly like me now, it'll help you get stronger." Ashamedly I could admit that I was feeling a bit annoyed we her reluctance. 

Matsu still hadn't made any overtures concerning the stunned imp in front of her that was just now starting to regain its bearings. 

"What?!" She gasped and part of me was annoyed by her refusal to take action. Was this some moral hangup? Was she really  so different from Beni and Haihane? 

'I guess it was a good thing that she had been out of it when we massacred those M.B.I. goons.' I gently prodded at our newly formed bond and frowned at what I found. 

It felt... shallow. 

"BANG!" The shakily rising imp's head popped as I lowered the still smoking pistol I had just materialized. Matsu lowered her arms. She looked rattled and I clicked my teeth. 

"Tch." The last still hale pack member charged a ball of red energy and thrust it towards me. I sighed and bobbed around the relatively slow moving projectile. Was there something wrong with our contract? Did I fuck up the winging? I could feel her as I could the others, but it wasn't with the same fidelity.  'Her CBL is 0, I don't think the others were ever that low, even at the beginning..' 

I concentrated on those turbulent thoughts and allowed them to pull me forward to violence. I burst to the side and stepped inside the enemies reach. A quick application of a joint lock and hip throw had my monstrous opponent spinning head over heels and crashing into the rocky ground. 

"You know, I thought all you sekirei had at least some combat potential." I wondered while stepping over the remains of my latest victim. In hindsight, that was probably the wrong thing to say as Matsu blanched and looked away from me, face red in shame. 

"I-I told you, I'm a brain type. Combat does not- does not suit me. It is sub-optimal." The buxom redhead shivered as she spoke, as if she was at that moment remembering something particularly unpleasant. I decided to drop it. Pushing her on this wasn't going to be worth it. Especially now. 

I didn't need her for her for her fighting abilities. 

Actually maybe it was a touch silly of me to expect Tech Support to go 5 rounds. 

"Fair enough, fair enough." I trailed my gaze over to where her burnished eyes had ended up, while also keeping half an eye on the approaching group. "We all have our parts to play I guess." She was looking at the Imp that I had disemboweled, which was currently laying on its side and whimpering pitifully. "Ah shit, missed one." I excused my lack of awareness and she turned her head partly away. 

In the scant moments before my foot descended and I curb stomped through the helpless demon's face, I couldn't exactly be sure what the look on Sekirei-02's face meant. Annoyingly, the bond was equally useless I'm that regard. In fact all I could just say with any kind of certainty was that she was feeling a bit of hesitance. Or maybe it could best be described as "uncertain horror"? 

'Jeeze.' After a moment if introspection, I mentally shrugged. 'Do we really have time for this?' I positioned myself to intercept the first of the gorilla like figures as the larger set of demons loped forwards. Gritting my teeth in anticipation I counted the seconds as they ticked by. 'Right, so let's get this part done at least.' The thrill of battle had slightly diminished, probably due to my overactive mind. 

The first Hellknight had now had altered it's course and was headed my right my way. Almost a ton of rippling muscle and lithe demonic flesh patently hell bent on rending us into tiny little pieces. 

The last XP notification faded out of my view and I briefly pulled up my spec's, looking at my current progress taking me to the next level. 

"Just a bit more to go." I muttered as I dropped into a low crouch, taking a fighting stance and anchoring my feet as best as I could. "Alright Red, you can cheer me on." 

She didn't respond. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

'I'm ruining this.' Matsu chewed at her fingernails as Sogen tore through the large animal like enemies that were attempting to swarm them. 'Why am I like this?!' Her stomach turned as the queer purple cat creature gripped a monster's head between its gloved hands. A moment later it popped like a burst balloon, bits of brain skull following a gallon or so of blood as it fountained into the air.

She had reluctantly accepted all of this insanity as truth when it had been explained to her. The alternative being that her Ashikabi was just crazy and the two brats were humoring him. Or maybe all three of them were mad.

Either way, it's not like she had much time to process it. Her head had been still spinning from the abrupt teleportation and the lingering after effects of her sudden winging. 

Her winging. She could still scarcely believe that it had happened. And in the matter that it had all occurred.  

'I don't want it to be like this.' She could feel the weight of her destined one at all times, and that particular label felt like a knife to the heart with how things were, right outside of her normal perception. She could feel the frustration radiating off of him and she feared that she was the cause of it. She could feel the edge of despair start to nibble at her, slowly gnawing from the bottom up. 'I had no choice!' She did. 'It was the right thing to do! And you did do it, now we have to live with it!' She admonished herself, showing no mercy for her weak persona. 

He wasn't a liar, her Ashikabi. That was a surprise. When he had manipulated space time and showed off his spectral companion the absurd had suddenly become much more grounded.

Anticipating violence, she turned away, but not before her eidetic memory stowed away the blurry, yet gratuitous picture of a blood covered Sogen tearing the spine out of the final waddling monstrosity. The beast crumpled with a short lived moan while simultaneously it's mutilated gun-hands fired green plasma bolts impotently into the air. 

Matsu raised her eyes from the ground. There was nothing to distract her from the violence and old mental scars were aching again. 

'Life is better behind the screen.' She realized, feeling not for the first time completely out of her depth. Her Ashikabi had ridden the corpse down as it collapsed and now was staring off into space, no doubt interacting with the mysterious "System" in some way she could not yet understand. Not enough data.

Right now, she admitted he was quite the sight. Like some terrible barbarian of the Hyperion age, if such a man would wear a Hawaiian shirt and sneakers, coated in red and standing atop his vanquished foe in victory. Unfortunately it was all blurry, her lack of glasses still handicapping her vision.

Still, it would of been a slightly exciting sight if only her head wasn't currently shaken up like a spray can. Instead, she wrestled silently with her newfound angst, wasting precious moments and limiting her attention. So much so, that when a comforting hand squeezed her shoulder she was taken completely by surprise.

"Hey Matsu, are you alright?" Sogen's concerned face looked over her as he gently kneaded her back. All the anger and frustration that he had been exhibiting earlier was gone, replaced by what she could perceive as concern. 

'I guess he enjoyed the fight.' She found that thought to be an interesting one. An Ashikabi wasn't supposed to act like that. Her destined one, was he going to turn out to be some kind of battle freak? More like one of her fellow combat sekirei? A dozen shounen anime series she had obsessed with over the years passed by as references. "I'm fine, it's just a lot." 

"Liar." A thick finger poked her between the eyebrows.  "I can feel your emotions, just a bit, you know. And you Miss, are a certified mess." Her Ashikabi 's sarcastic yet obviously concerned voice elicited a new feeling within her. 

Despite the fact that he smelled like blood and was swimming in the afterglow of violence, her lower belly clenched, but for entirely different reasons this time. 

"I-I..." 

"What do you feel on your end?" He interrupted her with quite the loaded question. What did she feel? She focused on that new intangible rope that was now tied to her core and tugged. 

"Oh." There wasn't much else to say. Matsu felt her face heat up and her hand reached for one of her auburn colored braids. Suddenly it it was also in need of a good tugging. At that moment she wished for nothing more than her glasses to be perched back on her nose. 'So I could see the kind of face a man makes when he's feeling THAT!' Those big hands gently turned her dainty ones over, feeling blazing hot at the touch. 'Wha-wha-what is happening?' 

"Here." Something metallic and faintly warm was dropped in her open hand. "Put this on, it should help a little." Matsu stared blankly at the necklace that the man had just gifted her. It was a strange piece, the large softly glowing silver gemstone giving it an otherworldly appearance and not something she would of thought the man would of preferred. She gingerly picked up the offered gift and skeptically inspected it. "Heh, I know that this is all pretty crazy, so I would be more concerned if you weren't feeling a little out of whack." The tall man rubbed the back of his head and chuckled awkwardly. 

"Uh, thank you." The Sekirei of Wisdom didn't see how a bit of jewelry would replace a lifetime of missed psychiatric appointments, but she was in no place at this point to doubt such.

Recent events had certainly proved otherwise. 

"I'm sorry for snapping at you, this is kinda a stressful situation ya' know?" Nobe-san understated beautifully as she hesitantly pulled the necklace over her head. "And look, I promise to explain everything better if we survive this." 

"You had better." She grumbled sourly, "You think you know how the world works and then all of a sudden you just...don't." Her mind recalled the conversations they had online, the ones where her Ashikabi had spoken of things he should not of known. About her, about the plan and about her mission. 'Failed mission.' She chided herself mentally, pushing the feelings of failure to the side before they could percolate. 

"Heh. Look, I can relate to that, really. Hell, if somebody back before had told me this would be my life I would of called them crazy too."  Sogen shook his head and the purple cat, his Stand, disappeared into thin air.. "So, is it working?" 

"It feels warm." She replied hesitantly. Indeed, that sensation of warmth was seemingly radiating out from the gemstone nestled between her generous breasts and slowing spreading to the rest of her body. Like a warm blanket it soon encompassed her entirely and so too did the tension in her muscles began to subside. "What is this?" Sogen stretched his own muscles, pulling his arm across his chest as he explained.

"It's nice right? Weird, alien soul-powered tech at its finest. Or its just Game fuckery. Not exactly sure which." 

"Technology?" Now curious, she fished the gemstone out from between the bountiful peaks and held the gem away from her body. The technopath squinted at the weird device, as she activated her special ability. Instantly a rush of utterly foreign digital information flowed through her six sense. "It appears so, though I can't pretend to understand how it functions...yet." 

"Well make sure you take care of her for me, I made a promise after all."

"Her?" Matsu queried, worried there would be yet another factor to consider in this quickly complicating social circle.

"Hm." But instead, Sogen hummed noncommittally, before turning his attention to something behind her and calling in a jaunty voice, "Hey, you girls have a good time?" The genuine smile on his face spiked a bit of jealousy of her and she let the stone fall before moving to regard the arrival of the other party members. 

"Yah! We kicked their ass!" The annoying pink midget shouted vociferously. Her outburst was punctuated by a bloody fist thrust into the air, which seemed to fit her crass personality to a T. 

"It was indeed a productive battle, Ashikabi-sama." The other one, Haihane, respectively bowed as she addressed the man. 

"Good, did you guys level up?" 

"Of course we did!" The bubbly braggart bobbed up and down with excitement before striking a more thoughtful pose. "Wait, what was that again?" 

"I believe so, but we need your help in applying these, 'points'?" The white haired goth said placidly.. 

"Sure, I'll walk you through it. We'll need every advantage we can get before we crush the boss and leave. Remember Number One is still waiting." Sogen held a finger up as he explained before grabbing the two younger sekirei by the shoulders and forming an impromptu huddle. 

"Waiting? Why would Asama-dono wait for us?" The usually bespectacled busty beauty asked. They had been here for over an hour and she couldn't imagine the mind controlled Miya waiting around for no reason. Not when they already had the jinki. Her Ashikabi looked back at her and shrugged. 

"Eh, time dilation or something. While were in the dungeon, it doesn't pass outside." To emphasize his point he raised a hand and tipped it back and forth. 

"Oh." 

There was nothing else she could think of to say. 

10 minutes later, though the dull red sun had yet to move in the sky, her trio of newfound confederates finished their, well whatever it was they were doing. It was as strange as everything else, but she could swear that the two sekirei felt different than they had just a few minutes earlier. 

More dangerous. 

"Beh Grandma, you're even further behind now!" Benitsubasa's tongue stuck impudently out as she continued to prove her obnoxious nature. 

"Now, now Beni-chan, play nice." Sogen jokingly scolded. He didn't seem overly concerned with the teasing. "Or I'll have to hand out pun-ish-ment." 

"Punish me AFTER you feed me, I haven't forgotten about that! After that, I'll let you try." Benitsubasa put her hands on her hips, defiant. Her Ashikabi stared at the red eyed girl for a second before his face shifted into something more vulnerable than she had seen before. 

"Benitsubasa..." He said softly before stepping forward and bodily embracing the dimuntive sekirei. "Thank you for protecting me." The huge man bent over, voice further muffled as he nuzzled her neck.  

"Stupid Monkey." The pinkette replied in kind. Despite her teasing words, her voice also conveyed a powerful sense of love and sincerity. So much so, that Matsu felt yet another unwanted spike of jealously. Sogen held the other sekirei close for a moment longer before he stood straight again and gazed into her shining eyes. 

"I don't like seeing you guys get hurt. It's all on me, I didn't think-" 

"We are your swords Ashikabi-sama, there is no foe we would not face if you asked." The white haired Haihane joined the group and embraced him from behind. Her bust pressed against his back and the man visibly relaxed in the three way hug. Sekirei-02 peeked at their shared bond and almost lost her balance, the pure twin feelings of love and trust overwhelming anything else. It was almost too much to take in at once. It was unlike anything that she had experienced in her 27 years of life!

Ashamed and feeling like a third wheel, she looked away, her face red with embarrassment. It wasn't helping when her Ashikabi began unashamedly groping the two women. One large blurry hand grabbed onto the small of Benitsubasa's back and the other snaked its way around, pulling the more stoic Haihane to his front.

'On the screen is one thing, but...wow.' Despite the current madhouse she just moved into, proving the Sekirei of Wisdom's perverse side still had some life yet. It probably didn't help that she could clearly see that Benitsubasa was doing a little groping of her own, both hands being employed and energetically exploring Sogen's crotch and her sister sekirei's ass. 

When two pairs of wings fired off in quick succession, pink and then blue, Matsu turned awkwardly away. 

'Are they really going to do IT? HERE! Now?' Maybe it was just the continuing absurdity of it all but at this point she vowed nothing would surprise her. 

Actually that might be the least weird thing she had witnessed today. 

The alien necklace around her neck continued to emit a soothing warmth that was matched when her Ashikabi broke the awkward silence. 

"You know Red, there's room for one more over here..." Sogen grinned at her over the heads of the two other women and she gulped at man's boldness. 

"Umm." The usually confident ex-disclipinary squad member found herself frozen to the spot.

"Yeah. Come on Old Hag, ya' scared of kisses now too?" The sarcastic pinkette turned her head and smirked at her, clearly enjoying the discomfort she was enduring. 

"Scared, SCARED?!" Matsu sputtered indignantly. "You idiot! You haven't seen a imagined a tiny percentage of the incomprehensible amount of lewds that I have, you, you, little normie bitch!" Spurred by her anger and hurt pride, Matsu roughly pushed her way in between the two younger women. Once there she leveled a dominant sneer at the shorter pinkette, "It's obvious that you haven't been taking adequate care of our poor Ashikabi. He obviously needs a mature experienced woman to satisfy his needs!" To emphasize her point the redhead placed her arms awkwardly around the barrel sized chest of her recent contractor and smushed her globes against the grinning ashikabi's firm chest. in response to her bravado Haihane snorted in amusement behind a raised hand. 

"Fat talk from a big boobied bimbo who was just winged today!" The smaller girl grabbed her by her dangling braid and tugged, not too hard, but enough to show her displeasure at being outgunned once again. 

"Ow!" Matsu yelped, her head being pulled to the side. 

"Heh, you sure do sound cute when your hurting. 'Sides, everybody knows Monkey likes strong girls and all I see is two big sacks of hot air and not much else." Benitsubasa grinned viciously at her while Haihane mouthed the words 'Everybody?' Incredulously. But Sogen intervened again on her behalf before she could retort in kind.

"Enough Benitsubasa, leave her alone." He frowned and the small woman went quiet at his rebuke before letting go of her with a huff. 

"Tch, whatever, old maids a loser virgin anyways." She grumbled, still not leaving Sogen's wide embrace. Satisfied with her acknowledgment, Sogen turned his gaze back to Matsu, concern and amusement equally reflected in his eyes. His undivided attention momentarily distracted her from her now aching scalp and whatever anger she had been building jnside.

This close she noticed again that they were brilliantly blue and it seemed like she was in danger of losing herself in those azure depths if she stared too long.

Unbidden her head tilted upwards, her tongue tracing suddenly dry lips as orange met blue in an unspoken pulse of desire. Despite her heightened senses she was taken off guard when his lips gently pressed against hers. She felt, contentment. 

'It doesn't matter.' She told herself and for the moment that was true. 

Her world spun. Their connection deepened as his tongue pushed past her paltry defenses and traced the underside of her teeth. Her golden wings blossoming from the small of her back and her crest burned. Pleasure unlike almost any she had experienced before surged through her entire being, as did a new feeling of strength. 

In times like this, maybe her perfect recall that usually inflicted misery and distress, well, maybe it wasn't too bad. 

"Bond Up: Nobe Sogen!" A strange pop-up appeared behind her closed lids but she paid it no mind. Time melted and slowed as she felt the nascent connection between them begin to deepen. Like the surging flood waters breaking down the banks of a swollen river. At some point their kiss must of broken, but she still held her head up, bathing in the afterglow of their intimate congress, the link still there.

"Are you okay?" Sogen's deep voice brought her out of the trance like state she had fallen into. 

Words failed her, so instead she just nodded. There in his arms, it all felt so perfect and she didn't want to ruin it with words that could never describe the depths of her condition. 

"Good. Thought we lost you there for a minute." Matsu rested her forehead against his chest and shook her head. 

"Not yet." She whispered, balling his shirt up in her superhuman grip. 

"I would of said good riddance!" Benitsubasa added her two cents, as unhelpful as it was. 

"Hey, hey, easy there, believe it or not this ugly thing was expensive." Sogen slowly moved his hands to hers and gently pried them away. That was the first time that Matsu realized that her Ashikabi was actually physically stronger than her. By a decent margin it seemed. 

"That's new." She pulled her arms back and stepped away, looking at him from head to toe. 

"What is?" He cocked his head and released the other two. Well he tried, the pinkette seemed permanently bonded to him and resisted his effort with pitiable desperation. 

"Nevermind." She would have to think about this development. Despite the dire situation maybe things were looking up. 

The thought of ropes and chains and whips and bite marks and possibly skin tight leather spun through her mind in a devilish whirlwind of a very inappropriate thoughts.

'How exciting.' 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

Momentarily alone, two of girls having huddled up deep in conversation and Matsu was busy cleaning up a sudden unexpected nosebleed, I took a moment to recenter myself. 

All those years of waiting. 

'Heh, for a massive pervert, she's pretty adorable.' I rubbed my just thrice kissed lips and gave a small. 'I guess if I'm going to die, this was a pretty nice time out before the final quarter.' 

Could we win? 

At that moment I didn't know. But I had resolved myself going into this knowing I would give it my all, regardless of the odds. It was my fault that it turned out this way, but wasn't that the way it always was. I was the only one working outside the system.  

So be it. 

"Alright." I sharply clapped my hands together, getting the other's attention. "I'm guessing a stage boss needs its ass kicked before we can get outta here. But before that, we have to talk about what we're going to do once we get out." 

"While our power has increased from 'leveling up' we are still not as strong as Number-01." Haihane admitted. 

"Cram it Q-tip! I feel great!" Benitsubasa countered optimistically habitually bouncing on her toes as she was always did when she got wound up. 

"I'm sure you do, but I think Hane-chan is right. We need to be smart about this. Which means not doing the same thing and expecting different results." I tugged on my chin as I began to think. It was difficult. We wouldn't have much time to do anything when we teleported back. "Does anybody have any suggestions?" 

"Hit her with my norito again! You saw how strong it was, Number One ran like crazy when she saw it." The red eyed braggadocio answered. 

'True, she did seem to regard it as a threat, even though Sheer Heart Attack just burned off her clothes.'

I wasn't jealous. Not at all! 

At least I got to see Miya naked. With nothing else to add to that line of thought I continued. 

"I would agree, maybe if we hit her with both yours and Haihane's at the same time she wouldn't be able to dodge." Noritos were truly powerful abilities, maybe even more so here than I remembered the anime portraying.

Although that loli's AoE "insta heal" had been painfully OP.

Benitsubasa started to open her mouth, fervent agreement clear on her face, but I cut her off. 

"Still I don't think we can rely on that, because you guys might not respawn back on the roof when we arrive." I watched the Red Sekirei's face go from hopeful to despondent. I turned my attention back to Matsu, who had yet to to say anything. The beautiful nerd's head jerked up when I called her name. "You said that Miya was being controlled but you said you didn't know how?" I posed it as a question and the redheaded alien nodded. 

"I misspoke." She clarified, "Takami-sensei used a device that emitted auditory cues that caused her to enter a soporific state. What I meant was I do not understand how exactly the device functioned."

"That bitch." The Red Sekirei spat, obviously not happy in hearing that Takami was behind all of this. 

"She must pay." Haihane intoned while nodding her head in agreement. 

"Later. Now, Matsu. You said they used an auditory cue, can you elaborate?" I tried to keep us on task. 

"It was a mask she wore, something that I had never seen before." She said as she adjusted the torn neckline of her dress. She was obviously uncomfortable with what she was recalling. "It translated the words she spoke into another language, one that affected Miya-dono." 

I frowned. That wasn't something that I recalled ever happening in the original show. 

"Did you recognize the language?" I asked.

"Not really, but it seemed familiar, as if I should." Matsu looked thoughtful. 

"Grandma probably just forgot. Old age and all." Benitsubasa sing-songed that last part and Matsu rounded on her. 

"I would not forget something like that you little chit! If you knew me you would know It is not possible because I have edietic memoryl." Matsu face matched her hair and the bond throbbed with anger. When Benitsubasa scrunched her nose up in confusion, she rolled her eyes. "I'll bring it down to your level. Perfect recall you brat, look it up." 

"Psh, whatever."

'That must be a sore point. Though having a perfect memory...' Well actually I couldn't relate. It could  undoubtedly be a useful thing to have, but I could see how it would be a problem. 'Wait! Her reaction to violence!' I understood now, though it made my decision to gift her Eristyth's soul gem more meaning. I was missing the warmth, but damn if she didn't need it more. 

"So you remember the words that she used? The alien ones I mean?" An idea was starting to form in my mind. 

"Of course. But I know what you are thinking and it won't work." Matsu spoke authoritatively but I couldn't help but question further. 

"Why?" Matsu reached up to reposition her no longer present glasses, probably a tick, before holding up a single finger. 

"One, I do not understand their meaning. Another finger was raised as she added the next point. "Two, even if I did, I cannot reproduce all of the necessary phonetic and tonal artifacts necessary to adequately reproduce them with any serious accuracy." 

"Huh." I hadn't thought of that, maybe Matsu's reputation as the planner of the group in canon wasn't just fantasy after all. Her vocabulary was a lot more fleshed out as well. Erudite even. I liked it.

Smart is sexy after all.

Of course sexy is sexy as well.

I mulled over the problem again for a while before a half remembered scene from the anime's finale bubbled up into my forethought's. "You can interface with machines directly right?" She nodded. "Well why don't we use something to project the audio from? I mean I assume thats how the original thing worked." 

"Again, I had thought of that as well but I cannot control the devices, only interpret the data on a psyhio-extrasensory level." Perhaps unknowingly, Matsu fingered the delicate chain around her neck. 

Well that was interesting. 

"Beni-chan!" I barked and my diminutive wardog leapt off the rock that she had squatted on. 

"Yah?" 

"Your norito, you didn't know what your it was until I activated it right?" 

"Sure, it was pretty awesome though right?" She fished for praise even as she answered. 

"It was babe, it was. But how did you know what to do? How to do it?" 

"Eh, I just did. We kissed and I just knew I wanted to do something cool, so it happened." She placed an open hand on her chest. "Guess I'm just better like that!" 

"Right. Hey Haihane can I see your phone?" The white haired girl gave me a look before retrieving the device from her inventory. 

"You're not going to break it are you? I have a lot of progress..." The video game enthusiast sounded distraught but I shook my head in denial. 

"Nope, I just need to see something." Satisfied she tossed me the phone and I deftly caught it one handed before I handed it to our tech specialist. 

"What's this? I told you it doesn't work like that!" She held it back out to me, but I merely laughed. 

"You know Matty, I'm starting to think you're smarter than me, that's true." I stepped closer to her, putting us in a similar position to the one we had just experience. "But I know something you don't." 

"Oh? And how exactly is that?" I grinned widely, showing off all of my pearly white teeth. 

Despite herself, she gulped as I loomed over her.

"I read the spoilers." 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

There was a flash of movement, a clash of black and purple that disappeared the instant  my brain finally caught up with my body. 

One second passed. 

Then two. 

Three. 

I looked around.

"Huh? The fuck?" No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find a hide nor hair of the pretty little certain death we had previously been facing. 

"Um, hey Matsu, did you see...?" The ginger sekirei shook her head from her seated position, having fallen again after the return trip. Obviously my sekirei was just as confused with the current development as I was. Despite her fall she cradled the cobbled together electronic contraption we had managed to fabricate together. 

Thank you Crafting Skill. 

I swiveled my head, searching again. "Huh. Well that just happened." I observed while offering the busty sekirei my hand. Upon going upright, she stumbled, still under the effects of the teleportation. Predicting another tumble, I reached out to catch her, holding her steady in my arms as she regained her balance. 

Our bodies pressed against one another and I felt the warmth coming through her tattered dress. It felt like a balm on my slowly recovering body. 

"Let's just agree to not think about it too much, ok?" 

She heartily agreed.  

"Were the hell did that monster innkeeper go?" Benitsubasa landed with a thud on the roof next to us. Fully recovered from the injuries she had previously suffered, she animatedly searched the immediate area. 

A few moments later the Blue Sekirei gracefully arrived. Her long pony tail drifted in the night breeze as she turned to address me. 

"She is gone? That is unexpected." She coolly stated, but perhaps she had spoken too soon. 

"BOOM!" An explosive clamor sounded, nearby but out of site. 

"Not far enough!" I roared, "Go!" Grabbing the unsteady Matsu and launching us away, not bothering to question the lucky break in contact. 

We moved at top speed but didn't get far before another complication reared its ugly head. A notification appeared on my heads up display notifying me of a new acquired skill but I played it no mind. The only thing that mattered was putting distance between ourselves and wherever the hell Miya had gotten to. 

"Wait! Uzume-chan, we need to help her!" Matsu squirmed in my grip and pointed down. I glanced down and quickly spied the crumpled mass of white fabric laying sprawled messily in the street below. From above the Veiled Sekirei looked like the victim of a particularly vicious TP'ing. 

"Haihane." I jerked my head down, not bothering to slow our flight. 

"Hai!" Twirling gracefully midair in a feat that would of put humanity's best gymnasts to shame, the white haired damsel redirected her arc and touch against the side of building before springing down. 

Our mad escape continued. It took Haihane only a few seconds before she rejoined the formation. In her arms, carried bridal style, Number-10 seemed to have been rendered unconscious. She was also unencumbered by the majority of her garish outfit, 

'Haihane must of ripped off most of the excess cloth.' The girl had a nice rack, but her presence was concerning. Was she winged already? If she was, well that would make her both a friend of one of my sekirei as well as a future opponent.  

Troublesome. 

But not for the moment. 

"What the heck happened back there!" Benitsubasa demanded once we had gained a good couple of klicks or so from the ambush site. It was well into night now and the lights from the busy city streets below us firmed a never ending luminescent river. 

"Don't know, don't care. All I know is that our chances of dying tonight decreased a metric shit ton." I had shifted Matsu to my back at some point and her warmth was making me sleepy. 

"So the mission was successful then?" Haihane asked. I saw a building that I remembered being near nearby our apartment and adjusted course.

"Yeah, mission accomplished I'd say. Ended up having a real "hell" of a time though." I don't know exactly what compelled me to do so, but my pun referencing the dungeon did not go unnoticed as Haihane quietly sniggered at the silly play on words. 

"But it all worked out thanks to our 'devilishly' clever plan!" Much to my surprise, Matsu continued and took a stab at the pun game, to Haihane's continuing delight. I chanced a glance behind us. No one was in pursuit, the rooftops were clear as far as I could see. Though I would refer to the girls much sharper senses in this case. 

"What's so funny?" Benitsubasa, as usual, didn't get it. The night air was cool and refreshing as we continued towards our objective. "Whatever, it's way past dinner time, this bites." The Red Sekirei whined, "Monkey, I want to eat!" 

"Soon Pinky, soon. We need to get to the apartment first, then we'll figure out logistics." Even Benitsubasa was participating in the pun-a-thon, though knowing her, perhaps not knowingly. 

"I guess you- I guess you could say our little washboard worked up a 'hellacious' appetite!" Haihane could barely get out the words without her laughter interrupting herself. 

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

As we filed into the apartment, Benitsubasa wasted no time in heading into the kitchen, leaving the three of us alone in the living room. 

'Well, four.' I thought, my eyes running over the still form of Uzume whom was promptly dropped on the unrolled futon. "Is sh deactivated?" I knew that sekirei didn't operate the same when it came to life and death as compared to humans. Inflict enough damage and they would simply fall unconscious. Haihane reached down and put her fingers to the back of the brown haired girls neck, where most sekirei expressed their crest. 

"No." The white haired woman pulled her hand back but still remained kneeling. "But her core is damaged." 

"Is that something that she can recover from on her own?" I wondered out loud. As far as I knew losing your core was the closest way a sekirei could come to death without being vaporized. Though even then, there was some biological activity remaining afterwards. 

"No, this is what M.B.I. would consider a Class Three Deactivation. She will not recover without intervention." Black eyes looked up at me, face blank. "Ashikabi-sama, do you want me to kill her?" 

"WHAT! Wait! Wait! Are you serious right now? That's my friend! She's-" Matsu's outburst was not unexpected in any way, but Haihane point, as cruel as it was, was one to consider. 

"An enemy?" The brutal words formed in my mind and spilled out my mouth. Matsu's face paled as she withdrew as I interrupted her with cold hard reality. "She is winged, correct?" 

The bond between us was suddenly turbulent with all of Matsu's negative emotions. The kind you would feel when two of your foundational concepts became at odds. 

"Yes, this unit is winged, the crest is present and fully powered." Haihane confirmed in the redhead's stead. I didn't know how exactly my sekirei knew all that, maybe a special sense of some sort that only their kind possessed. I nodded in thanks before looking back at the at quickly mentally deteriorating Matsu.

A pretty little mouth opened then just as quicklu snapped closed. 

Both of us knew there was nothing really for her to object to, from a strictly logical point of view at least. As far as she knew, the Sekirei plan was still the law of the land and we would end up in conflict with Uzume and all the other sekirei at some point or another. A conflict that would not stop until there was only one victor.

All other sekirei must be eliminated. 

Her brow furrowed and her eyes closed. Torn between her feelings as an individual versus what was demanded of her as a sekirei, it was clearly cutting her to the core.

If it came down to it, she couldn't stop Haihane, Benitsubasa or even me. And I'm sure she knew that. 

"Please don't." Her whispered plea cut straight to my heart, but I steeled myself. I needed to make the reality of our situation very clear. 

"Matsu look at me." I gently asked and she raised her head. She was tearing up, whatever calming effects of the necklace overwhelmed by the amount of duress she was experiencing. Copper orbs glared at and pleaded with me in equal measure. 

"What?" She hissed with balled fists and I saw Haihane tense from where she still knelt. I discretely shook my head at her; the last thing I wanted was for violence to break out. 

Thankfully the tension was cut somewhat when the sound of something breaking and a muffled yelp came from the kitchen. 

There was a few seconds of awkward silence before I forged ahead on an uncertain path.

"You know very well how this should play out. By fate or design, we'd be stuck playing this stupid game and everything that it entails." I gestured around us as if to emphasize the reality of our current situation. "Do you think that your friend wouldn't attack you if her ashikabi ordered her to? What about if she felt that they were in danger? Or to achieve that happy ending with her beloved ashikabi? Grant her any wish?" I watched the Sekirei of Wisdom cringe as the truthfulness of my words reached her.

Truth be told, I wasn't overly concerned with Uzume as a threat. In fact I could see the opportunities presented by her continuing existence as a friendly asset.

She could be useful.

But from my fore-knowledge, I also knew that the answer to my question was emphatically yes. When her hospital bound Ashikabi was threatened by one of the secondary antagonists (I didn't remember the guy's name), she had acted under their orders, crushing unwinged Sekirei and fighting on their behalf. 

"..." Matsu was silent again, so I answered for her.  

"She would. Just like I would expect my Sekirei to do the same if I asked it of them. So I'm not judging her for it. I'm sure she's great." I let that statement hang before continuing. "Look Matsu, I just need to know. If ever comes a time where you have to make that choice, between your Ashikabi and your desires, can you make the same choice that your friend would?" I raised a fist and clenched it. "I'll tell you now, I have one primary wish, something bigger than myself, passed down by a system outside my understanding. It has driven me from my first waking thought in this life up until this very moment! I must win Matsu. I will win. I have no other choice and I will consider all options in achieving that end!" I thumped my hand on my chest, "This is the kind man that you have tied yourself to."

She didn't answer right away, obviously taking the time to mull all of it over in that big juicy brain of hers. I'm sure even now it was still difficult to wrap her head around the current situation. When she was ready, she continued. 

"I hate this game. I hate it with all my being! Sekirei are meant to find their destined one and live! Not dance to the whims of a maniacal madman in some inane plot! Why do we have to suffer through this? What did we do to deserve this punishment! Even now, when it hasn't truly even begun, yet look around at what has resulted!" She was nearly out of breadth from her impassioned speech by the time she finished, her convictions clear as day on her face. "But in the end, those thoughts, all that I am as an individual, is subservient to this new feeling. I know, here," the busty redhead pressed both of her hands over her breast, "what we will have to do. I put aside myself when I allowed you to wing me. It is your desires that are now my desires. Your goals are now mine." She bowed, "As much as it burdens my heart and rends my conscience, I will not...interfere." The longer her speech went on, the more difficulty she seemed to be having. Her voice ended up hoarse and I could tell that she was still holding back tears. 

I must admit, I was proud of her. I knew that sekirei were quite capable of disobeying (even physically harming) their masters. But she wasn't done.

"But please! Sogen! Don't do this! We don't-" 

"Ok." 

"-need to do th- oh." Matsu seemed stunned by my ready concession. I smiled at her.

"You can relax. I never intended to harm Uzume." I summoned two medium health potions from my inventory and knelt down saiza style next to Matsu's friend. Seeing she was no longer needed, Haihane promptly retreated to the couch and pulled out her portable game system. 

I ran my eyes over the supine woman in front of me, no longer unused to the unnatural beauty her kind possessed. It was partially ruined by the ugly black and red bruises that absolutely covered her face and arms.

Already those had started to fade, her alien body returning to homeostasis, a testament to their regenerative abilities. 

As an individual, she was taller than Matsu, but shorter than Haihane. Hane-chan was also much more lithe and streamlined, in contrast Uzume was thicker and more, well, muscular. Her battle uniform was scandalous as well, barely holding together from my sekirei's less than tender ministrations. The two breezy white straps that in the best of times barely covered her generous tits were pulled to the side, allowing the edge of one of her large dark areola to peek out from behind the gaudy fabric. I averted my eyes from the stiff peaks slightly embarrassed to be caught ogling an injured woman. So instead I cleared my throat and pulled the stopper from the first of the potions. 

"What is that?" Matsu quizzically inquired, joining me on the futon, though thankfully she kept her admittedly filthy feet off the bed. 

"Health Potion." 

"Of course it is." The gorgeous redhead scoffed and rolled her eyes. I could almost imagine her look of annoyed resignation. It took some force to open Uzume's jaw, but eventually I managed and soon the red liquid was pooling in her mouth.

"Hey Monkey, fridges aren't that expensive right?" Benitsubasa asked as she came back into the room, a block of raw tofu and a half empty bottle of soy sauce clutched in her greedy little claws. "Ya' know, just wonderin'." 

"They can take it out of the security deposit." I said while tilting Uzume's limp head back. 

"Wait!" Matsu cried and tried to take my hand, but it was too late. Uzume gave a series of wracking coughs; the brunette choking on the restorative liquid. 

"Shit!" I rolled her over and allowed the liquid to drain out of her mouth. When the choking sounds finally stopped, I gently laid her on her back again. "I can just pour it on her exterior wounds but I don't think it will work as well." Matsu gave me a sharp look of consternation before she stared straight ahead off into space for moment as if she was concentrating on something unseen.

"Gently pour a small amount of liquid into the person’s mouth, taking care not to overflow or force the liquid down their throat." The remaining liquid was snatched out of my hand as she recited medical advice from memory. "Cover the nose and mouth briefly to encourage the swallow reflex. Take care not to cover the airways for too long." Matsu did so and already I could see that her patient was recovering. 

"Good work." I handed her the other vial and stood up to stretch my arms. 

"Are we fixing the enemy now?" Benitsubasa scoffed from the desk chair.

"Yeah, we are. Though in this case that is yet to be seen. She's Matsu's friend and helped us out with Miya." The fact that she had gotten hurt while doing so was also something to consider. 

"Whatever. She's pretty weak anyways. If I crush an ant, now or later, don't matter." The diminutive Red Sekirei took a swig of her soy sauce

Ignoring her churlish reply, I walked over to where Haihane was perched on the couch, legs pulled up and bare toes curled on the upholstery and dropped my bulk next to her.

"I really hope they don't hellfire the building." I mused, out loud, not putting doing such a thing past the vindictive Takami. "If its any small comfort, I'm pretty sure that we would probably survive it."

That was probably true. 

I snaked my arm behind Haihane's back and leaned my head against her shoulder. The skinny beauty didn't stop playing her vidja, but she did slightly shift over, allowing me to snuggle in closer. 

"We shouldn't stay here. So after we rest for a bit, I want everyone grab and store what you want to keep. Clothes, toiletries, whatever." It would be good to go on the run for a few days, at least until our new home was ready. 

"Why are we running? Let em' come I say!" Benitsubasa said while spinning herself around in the chair. Though that didn't last long as before I knew it I was being buttressecd on both sides by needy alien flesh. 

"Matsu-senpai, where's you glasses?" Hearing an unfamiliar and unsteady voice told me that the health potions had worked as I had hoped. I let out breath that I had been holding in as I felt relief. Matsu would of been heart broken.

"Uzume!" Whatever tears Matsu had been holding back were now unleashed in full. My newest sekirei fully embraced her oldest friend, uncaring of the discomfort she was causing the yet fully recovered woman with her desperate squeezing.

"Agh, I'm glad you're okay. But, please...I can't breath!" 

"I'm sorry!" Matsu recoiled as if burned, " I didn't know you weren't fully recovered yet! So here, um, let me just..." The Sekirei of Wisdom poured the rest of the vial onto Uzume's bosom. It was only when she concernedly began to massage the potion in that it elicited a reaction.  

"Hey what's the big idea!" The younger woman indignantly exclaimed as she quickly sat upright and grabbed my sekirei in a headlock. Coincidentally, Matsu's hug had completely dislodged one of her boobs from the fabric, which was now glistening after being covered in the slightly oily residue. The prodigious globe wiggled and jiggled freely as her senpai struggled futily in her iron grip.

I grinned pervertedly at the free show, half expecting the incoming head bonk. 

"No! Bad Monkey!" Benitsubasa gave me an exaggerrated frown, but I could tell she was amused as well at seeing Matsu being manhandled.

Haihane pursed her lips and turned away from the rambunctious scene, her portable game console still gripped in her hands. 

"Medi-medicine! It's medicine I swear!" Matsu desperately plead her case, but Uzume wasn't having it. 

"Sure it is Hentai-Senpai, I've heard that one before, eh?" Although perhaps that was the moment that Sekirei-10 noticed the distinct lack of injury on her now fully recovered body. "What? How did-, that's not right." She seemed confused and in awe, Matsu was able to wriggle out of the choke-hold. 

"As you can see, my Ashikabi's methods," The red faced Matsu coughed and took a moment to recover before continuing, "are unnaturally effective." 

"Your Ashikabi?" Uzume's eyebrow hitched and the pony tail adorned head searched the vicinity before settling on me. "Oh Matsu-oneesan, you did it!" This time it was Uzume's turn to initiate the hug. "I'm so happy for you!" The hug broke apart and Matsu wiped the remaining tears from her puffy eyes. 

"Yes, it was quite unexpected, the way it occurred. Though it has worked out in the end I suppose." She pointed to me. "This is Nobe Sogen, my Ashikabi." There was a hint of pride in her voice that I can't say I didn't appreciate hearing.

"Sup." I said casually, not getting up from my pinned position on the couch. 

"Hello." Uzume looked back from me to her friend and gave a tight smile. Then her eyes widened. "What happened with Asama-sama!" 

"She ran away because we're so badass." Benitsubasa crowed, "Once we got back-" I subtly elbowed her in the ribs. 

"We managed to escape, thankfully. It was a close call though." I cut her off, afraid of her revealing too much if I didn't. 

"That's a relief then!" Uzume took a moment to stand and look around the apartment as she fixed her outfit. Much to my disappointment. "Wow, that medicine was pretty neat Nobe-san, I don't even feel tired after all that!" Thankfully Matsu was smart enough to interpret my reluctance to divulge information. 

"Sogen used to work for M.B.I. he managed to steal a whole bunch of useful stuff before he went A.W.O.L." The Tech Queen was apparently not above fibbing either. 

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." Uzume reached down a offered Matsu a hand up, which she accepted. "Your Ashikabi seems like a really nice guy Matsu-senpai. You're lucky. With Chiyo..." Uzume went from relaxed and jovial to tense and serious in a split second. "She's so scared!" Out of nowhere she looked one way and then the other, clearly in a panic. "Thank you for helping me, but I need to go now!" She bolted towards the bathroom, but I preempted her embarrassment for fleeing so suddenly.

"Of course, see her out Matsu." I asked and the pair soon rushed out of apartment. Leaving me alone with the gamer and the gremlin. 

"Do we really have to leave tonight? I'm kinda tired ya' know." Benitsubasa yawned and rested her chin on my shoulder. She had finished her 'snack' and was evidently tired from the days exertions. I don't know or why a gene nodded alien warrior would need sleep, but I suppose the circadian rhythm was a useful thing to retain. "Why don't we just go to bed?" She batted her eyes and it took all that I had to resist the suddenly sultry temptress. Admittedly it was slightly ruined by the streak of dried blood that she had missed in her rushed cleanup.

We were all a mess. 

In fact this couch was probably a goner. 

Haihane shifted next to me, suddenly rotating her body so she plopped upside down on my lap like an oversized cat. Despite her abrupt change in position, her game playing continued uninterrupted. I read between the lines though, she didn't want to go anywhere either. 

'Goddammit. Strength R.O.B., grant me strength!' I firmly helped Haihane to sit upright again before I stood. 

Constitution Check Passed! 

"Fine, we can stay tonight." Face twisting with displeasure, I picked at my blood encrusted clothing. "But first, showers for everyone." I didn't know exactly what Beni-chan was going to say when her mouth started to open, but I preemptively cut her off with an accusing finger. "That means you too Stinky!" 

I caught the pillow that was thrown at my face just as Matsu quietly reentered the apartment. 

"She left. I think she was worried about what she felt through her bond." The redhead stood just inside the doorway, seemingly unsure how to act. 

"That's understandable." I deflected another pillow. "She seems nice." 

"She is." Matsu shuffled her feet and gripped her sides.. "Sogen, you have my sincerest thanks for helping her, even though it was against your interest to do so." To punctuate her point she bowed deeply, which let her girly bits dangle pleasantly.

"I'm glad we're already on first name basis Matty-chan!" I smiled, knowing that part of that was true. The timeline was already vastly different than what I remembered, but that didn't mean that my insight wouldn't prove useful in the future. Plus I didn't want to upset Matsu.

I happened to like Matsu. 

"Psh, I can call you Ashikabi-sama if you'd prefer." 

"Uh, no. One is enough." Out of the corner of my eye I witnessed Haihane poke her head around the game console and glare at the Brain type with her one exposed eye. "How about you call me 'Master' instead?" I coyly suggested and enjoyed the reddening state of her face. "No. Put it down." I snapped my fingers and Benitsubasa reluctantly dropped the empty soy sauce bottle back on the couch and crossed her arms. I ignored the childish tongue poking out impudently when Matsu began speaking again.

"Do you want me to start packing?" She asked and I shook my head. 

"Nah, change of plans." I pulled my dirty shirt up over my head and tossed it onto the floor. "Go ahead and strip." I casually began undoing my belt buckle, pulling my pant down in a single smooth motion. 

"What the hell are you doing!?" Matsu yelped while covering her eyes with her hands. 

"Jeeze I thought you were supposed to be the legendary super pervert." I mumbled, "We're going to take a shower." I tossed my pants and socks onto the floor and held out my hand. "Care to join?" 

"Hah! The Old Hag's bleeding out her nose! What's loser!"

(I8I)(I8I)(I8I)

A short time earlier...

No sooner had the blade parted milky white flesh, Karasuba's current foe launched herself up and away in an explosion of godlike speed. Instinctively the Black Sekirei gave chase. Her jump brought her high up into the air, quickly closing the gap with her airborne target. Already the woman was fading away into an invisible state, the magic knife having started its work, but Karasuba acted in a fraction if a second, aiming for the glowing energy sword that had suddenly appeared in thin air. 

Coming into range the gray haired killer swiped again with her knife, aiming directly at where she hoped the Pillar's exposed neck would be. 

A small trail of red mist flew off into the night sky, as the weapon made contact again. Sekirei-01's stony visage instantly reappeared, a tiny cut on her cheek. 

There was no victory to be found. 

Using her swinging limbs to pivot, Asama Miya rotated 360 degrees and launched a spinning kick that somehow connected with the top of the still invisable Karasuba's shoulder. It was an earth shattering blow that landed, made slightly less so because of the lack of leverage found mid air. Still it was a enough. Like a rocket entering terminal velocity, Sekirei-02 slammed into the roof of a still burning HMMWV, bounced once and landed on the asphalt. In the process her cloak of invisibility was stripped away, her held knife having sliced her own thigh on the way down. Stunned, Karasuba rolled onto her back. She had to ignore the painfully cracked bones and lacerations and recover. Her life depended on it. She recovered not a moment to soon either as the promise of death was in hot pursuit. 

The glowing blade flashed and the Karasuba instinctively held up her weapon to deflect as she scooted backwards like a crab. As a result, the Invisible Knife's blade was bisected cleanly in half. 

The weapon that that MAN had attacked her with.

The same one that that human had used to draw her blood. That had connected them for a brief second in the most intimate of ways. 

The Black Sekirei's anger grew to an unprecedented level. Launching her athletic body backwards into a one handed back spring she snagged a combat knife fastened to one of the nearby dead M.B.I. soldier's combat harness.

Instantly upon landing she bodily hoisted the corpse up by the handle and flung it at the approaching swords-woman. 

No-1 didn't flinch, instead the energy sword appeared again and bisected the corpse cleanly in half, splattering her body with a mist of blood and sizzling fat.

Karasuba didn't know why her enemy was naked, such mundane thoughts were lost to her. Her blood-lust had consumed her almost completely by that point and she showed it as she arrogantly closed the distance and thrust upwards with her new weapon. 

Now lacking the element of surprise, her ability to strike was significantly less effective than it had been previously. Instead of dodging, Miya merely fired off a small blast of blue energy directly into the taller woman's wiry chest. 

Like a wounded animal Karasuba leaped back to lessen the energy blow, her weapon held defensively in front of her. Still though, a large burned patch of skin had appeared on her chest where the energy projectile.had impacted.

"It is not by my own will that I fight, but I am still gladdened by the fact that you will die by my hand today, creature." The strongest sekirei finally broke her silence, taking up a ready position with the glowing blue blade in her hand. 

"I WILL SLAUGHTER YOU!" The Black Sekirei screamed in response. So emotionally charged was she that her voice warbled and cracked, coming out as a barely intelligible screech that even she herself would of failed to recognize as her own. No longer caring about her self preservation she threw herself forwards again. This time she dodged the energy blast which exploded behind her, ducking and holding the large knife like a spear in both hands.

Once again, Miya calmly dodged her thrust and entered into a clinch. Strong arms linked behind Karasuba's back and the worlds strongest widow began to muscle the taller woman forward, no doubt looking to take her to the ground. 

Unwilling to show any weakness, Karasuba ground her teeth and attempted to resist with all her might, the road cracking and tearing underneath her feet as she dug in. For a brief period they were evenly matched, for a brief moment the result of their duel was unknown. 

For the first time Karasuba was fighting for something other than her own selfish desires. 

But slowly, oh so slowly, she was still being pushed back. These two women were on the tip of the pyramid when it came to their species' strength, but ultimately, one clearly stood above all.

Veins protruding from her head.

Every muscle taught.

Ragged heavy breaths.

Karasuba put every ounce of herself into upending cruel reality.

She had wanted more than everything to fight Yume just one more time. To prove herself right through bloody battle and through her own strength. To defeat the hated concept of 'Love' and 'Destiny' once and for all and seal the bulwark of her heart once and for all in the familiar cloak of comforting hatred. Everything else had been secondary. The fact that her friend wasn't the strongest hadn't even really registered. 

'Coward.'

She had never seriously considered to try and take the top before. 

But then her treacherous heart had betrayed her and proved that she was still too weak. Too weak to suppress her pathetic nature and too weak to actually to reach that dream of hers that had kept her sane.

She knew now that it was her cowardice that had kept her alive. 

A weak bit of concrete was all it took. A bit of asphalt that hadn't quite cured right. Her leg slipped back as the surface gave way in a big patch and she dropped to one knee. 

In a heartbeat it was over. 

Number 01 bowled her over with ease and achieved the mount. Her elder's iron grip easily crushed her wrist and forced the stolen knife to fall from nerveless fingers. Knowing what would come next, Karasuba bucked like a wild stallion, desperation lending her frantic strength as she seemed to free herself from the submissive position.

"Enough." A brilliant blue blade if energy was placed against her neck and the smell of burning flesh did much to break her out if the wrath induced temporary insanity she had been under. Her skin burned in proximity to the blazing hot weapon and even in her manic state she knew she was lost. Surprisingly, Miya's arm was also shaking, as if it was taking her everything she had as well go stop herself from following through the decapitation. "You will die. But before, I must hear from your wicked mouth what I already know to be true." Karasuba threw a punch that would of snapped any of her lesser brethren's necks but it was contemptuously slapped aside and return with enough force that she saw stars. Dazed, she could of sworn that a demonic visage of sorts had started to form behind her assassin's head.

"Did you kill my husband?" Miya's voice was calm on the surface, but it carried the weight of a vast oceans fury just below that facade. "Did you kill Asama Takehito?" 

The name brought to her a vague memory of a man, silver hair and green eyes, smiling up at her as she cruelly cut him down. 

'I'm sorry Karasuba, for what we did to you.' He had clearly been at peace in the end smiling even as she cut him down. Maybe she could be the same?. 'I forgive you.'

'Right, I can't believe I had forgotten.' But at this point the blood of hundreds stain these hands, hard to tell which was which. Not that she ever bothered to actually learn her target's backgrounds before. Why bother researching a worm before you squashed it? The Black Sekirei turned her head and spat a wad of blood and broken teeth onto the ground. 'Whatever.'Dying with dignity was never going to be her end.

When she looked back at the simmering Pillar a sadistic smile broke out on her face like a sucking wound. "Ah yes, your precious husband," Karasuba let out a practiced cackle as she leaned up as far as she could, straining against her captor, "died like a stuck pig, squealing to the end!" She lied to make it hurt.

Hurt her like she had hurt him! How she had hurt her!

The second blow to her head was not unexpected, but the only thing she could think of was to continue down the oath presented to her. "You took HIM from me! But you will never get your husband back! It was an order, but it was my PLEASURE to rip out your 'heart'! The mighty Sekirei-01, unable to defend what she loved! How...enjoyable!"

Another bout of mocking laughter erupted as a look of pure rage crossed Asama Miya's face. But inside Karasuba felt anything but amused. 'She'll probably kill him after this.' She morosely sussed. The shame of failure suffused her body along with another unfamiliar sensation. 'Is this...sadness?' 

All she had know in her life was hate. Hatred of others, hatred of herself, hatred of this rotting stagnant world and everything in it. The Black Sekirei had left a festering scar of death and misery on the world since the moment hell had spat her out and given her life.

Why was it only now that something gave her wretched hope?

'Yume, I guess we'll never know. I will see you soon.' 

"Monster, I return you to hell!" Apparently satisfied, the Pillar raised her sword in preparation for a decapitating strike. 

Karasuba resolved to keep her eyes open. 

"Stop!" "Khlor sha!" Two voices sounded almost simultaneously, the second alien words poking painfully at something buried deep inside Sekirei-04's guts. 

As for Miya, her enemy was now seemingly frozen, sword raised above her head in a blow that would of undoubtedly been her end. The Sekirei Queen's face was frozen, though beet red, and her naked body shook violently as she attempted to resist whatever mysterious force had subverted her will. 

"Woo, safe!" An annoying familiar voice announced in an overly exaggerated manner that was characteristic of the man who owned it. "Lucky I made a spare! Kukukuku!" 

Whatever reason Hiroto Minaka had for being here, Karasuba couldn't give any less of a shit. With a roar she threw the now catatonic Pillar off of her and gained the mount, reversing their former positions. Now atop the smaller alien woman, Karasuba wasted no time. Her long fingers encircled the woman's defenseless neck, relishing in the suddenly (unearned) reversal of power. 

"DIE!" She laughed and despite the strangled choking sounds coming from Miya, she was completely unable to resist. In fact she was still frozen in the same position she had been in while upright, albeit her sword had dissipated along with her freedom of movement. 

The Pillars eyes had just started to roll backwards when her short lived fun was cut short. 

"Oh, would you please break that up?"

In a completely novel experience, one moment she was getting some sweet revenge and the next she was pinned on the ground, a knee in her back and unable to move in the slightest. 

She hadn't even sensed a threat. 

She had seen nothing. 

Impossibly the strength of the being that was now restraining her was greater than even that shown by the Pillar in her rage! She couldn't even move an inch, feeling like a building had collapsed on top of her, her insides being pressed out like a tube of paste.

The pyramid shifted and her world shook.

She shakily turned her head and beheld the being that had just upended the long known status quo.

A featureless full face helm with golden highlights stared blankly back at her. The being was completely armored and androgynous, impossible to tell who or what was inside the streamlined suit.

"Now, now, Four-San, we don't need any un-sportsmanlike behavior!" Minaka was dressed in an obnoxiously white three piece suit, complete with white gloves and bow tie. 

Despite the literal warzone he must of walked through, amazingly he seemed to not have picked up a speck of dirt. "Save it for the big game, OK?" Karasuba growled at the disgustingly cheerful eccentric, but a firm hand warningly pressed her head into the ground and silenced her complaints. "Tut, tut tut! Quite the mess we have here, someone's been quite the naughty little renegade. Subverting the will of our masters. Stabbing me in the back. Eu tu Takami-chan? We can't be having that now, can we? And so close to the start of our divine undertaking!" 

Ten thousand dollar loafers hopped lightly over the charred and blackened legs of a still smoldering corpse. 

"Sweet youthful love! You've broken my heart as well!" The egomaniac swooned dramatically, hand over his breast pocket as he cavorted around without a care in the world. In his off hand he held a black kabuki mask.

Preening, he held the mask up in front of his body and stared into it's empty eye sockets. "The Gods, whispered their name on high for they hath ruleth of the heavens and watch the strands of fate that we all dance upon. What is such a concept as love in the face of such majesty? The taste of virgin lips, the pull of innocent charm. Family." He stopped in front of a burning troop transport. The tracked vehicle was shattered beyond repair, one of the tracks having been thrown completely off and shattered into pieces

The wind shifted and there came a whiff of roasting pork. 

"Shame, seem's they faired rather poorly. Busy, busy, but, we'll have to move up the schedule. Excuse me for a moment Four-san, I have to make a phone call." The CEO of M.B.I. pulled out a cellphone and began to dial. "Arrogant of us for daring to think that us mere humans could contain this level of power on our wee lonesome. But, but, but the battlefield of the gods needs it's custodians and what was I, Minaka, to do? The others weren't ready yet! No, not at all! Not then. And with our watch dogs having flown the coup, no, Four-san I'm not angry, in fact I'm positively delighted on behalf of you and the other's it's just, oh excuse me!" The man held his phone up to his ear. 

"It's your favorite boss Derrickson-san! Yes, mushi, mushi indeed!" Good news! We'll be deploying the second scalar production line as soon as possible!" Even from her position on the ground, Karasuba could hear the confused shouting from the other end. For his part Minaka merely waved the mask he held in his hand in an exaggerated chopping motion. "Not necessary, not necessary! Takami-chan has taken an indefinite leave of absence following recent events. The job of Director was much too stressful Actually, good news! That means a position has opened up! Are you interested perhaps?" A pause. "Oh, I'm sure you were Doctor! Order are orders after all! But now it has been revealed to me that it has become necessary for me to be taking a more active hand in things going forward! OK, ta-ta!" The man chuckled as he hung up. "He's a really go-getter that one but" the madman held his hand up to his mouth, "bit of a pushover if you ask me! Which you didn't but I don't mind! Not at all!" 

Karasuba tried to lunge forward again, but the armored warrior on her back did not budge. 

"Well, well, it'll be a busy night cleaning all this up. Nobe-san is just full of surprises, mmmm, isn't he?" Minaka giggled gesturing around to the remnants of the destroyed convoy before bringing the mask up to his grinning face. "Hurry up and run along now Four-chan, the game will begin soon and you don't want to get left behind." He slipped the demonic visage back over his face and gestured towards Miya. "If you want to make all your wishes come true, an ashikabi you must have! The gods will it! Yes, yes, come Pillar, we have great things to do!"

Robotically, Asama Miya rose off the ground, annoyingly almost completely recovered from their brief spat. As she approached him Minaka draped his white jacket over her naked body. "We can't have our star antagonist catching cold now can we." 

"You will pay Hiroto. For what you did to Takehito, for-" Released from the vague 'Stop' command, Miya's accusation was nonetheless silenced before she could complete her threat.

"Shhh! No spoilers!" The woman's mouth clicked closed and no more words issued forth. "How troublesome." He ran his hand through his messy blonde locks. "I guess you two were busy gabbing. No matter, no matter. So long Number-04, I'm so excited you've found your happy ending, maybe, if you're lucky, you'll be able to fulfill that other wish too!" Laughing uproariously the the man strode off down the street.

Undetected before hand, two shadowy figures peeled themselves off of the nearby buildings as another pair of the armored bodyguards appeared. Practically they were indistinguishable from the one who was restraining her and to her shame a sliver of icy fear found its way into her chest at the raw power the duo were exuding. Without delay the featureless guards began to trot down the street. 

Only when they had passed out completely of sight did she feel the pressure on her back begin to subside. The Black Sekirei took the chance offered her and desperately threw herself forward. She scrabbled out from underneath the armored figure and snatched up the combat knife she had previously dropped. Moving quicker than human thought she turned and- 

Slammed into the nearby concrete wall with enough force to embed her body partially into the rock hard material. Every bone in her body rattled violently with the impact and for the second time that day the former second strongest sekirei almost blacked out. Her enemy shifted imperceptibly again and instantaneously both of her femurs were shattered. She choked on her scream, unable to breath with the only just now discovered force bearing down on neck. 

The blank silver mask stared at her wordlessly, seemingly judging her with its intense scrutiny. Unspoken warning issued, it released its grip on her throat and promptly disappeared. 

Freed, Karasuba dropped to her knees then screamed as her weight landed on her broken legs. What emerged from her throat was only a gurgle and to her horror she determined her larnyx had been partially crushed. She gulped for lifesaving air, but found it was difficult to even accomplish such a small task.