It started with an innocent text, one message to begin the biggest manhunt of all in ShinTokyo.
[An unwinged Sekirei had escaped from MBI! No.84 Yashima. This will be a biggest treasure hunt of all with her lips as your prize! Clink on the link to get access to MBI trackers]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Homura cursed, jumping over rooftop to rooftops with great haste. The message has been sent to all Ashikabi by half an hour ago. It's only through Matsu did he find out of the new sick game Minaka came up with. Both temper and his powers are already flaring up, his control over his power slipping due to his emotions.
Oh, his not just angry with Minaka.
His angry of himself and the new tenant of Izumo Inn. To think of all Ashikabi in the city, he just have to get a guy.
A freaking dude!
Homura knew he could pass as a girl due his Bishounen looks but come on! Is God really that petty to not only give him faulty powers but also try to make him gay, no offense to anyone. It's only through sheer willpower and goddamn pride that he was able to hide the fact he was reacting to Minato on yesterday's dinner. It was so sudden and out of the blue, he had to leave early that night. The only one who knew about him reacting is that Shut-in Sekirei laughing at his predicament. Homura of course took revenge by forcing Matsu to find out what is there to know about Minato Sahashi.
He is the son of Takami Sahashi, one of Homura's benefactors and ears in MBI.
Unemployed. Failed to enter college, second time, Minato Sahashi is plain average compared to his mother who is anything but average. That woman is far more scarier than Minaka yet she's still subordinate to that man which speaks to itself how absurd Minaka was.
Honestly, Homura didn't mind to have Minato as an Ashikabi. The problem is that he has his male pride on the goddamn line! What will everyone think? What would Emiya think? He's closest male friend at this point.
Not to mention, Homura still have his promise. To protect all unwinged Sekirei. As long as there is an unwinged Sekirei out there, he would protect them until they found their destined Ashikabi. Until then, he wouldn't wing himself to an Ashikabi.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
"Hello?" Homura grumbled as he answered the phone. He can't have any distractions today!
"Homura, you need to fall back now!" It was Matsu and she sounds alarmed.
"I can't Matsu, not with this sick game." Homura replied, practically snarling.
"I know! Damn it, Homura! MBI is using their satellite to track and broadcast to all Ashikabi the location of No.84! The streets are swarming of all Ashikabi and Sekirei. They're all coming out of the woodworks since the announcement and I very much doubt that you could handle all of them!"
Homura cursed. If it was one or two Ashikabi and they're Sekirei, he could handle them. But all of them? He doesn't even know the total count of Ashikabi in the city but he knows that he couldn't handle all of them at once. If they're converging in No.84's location, a free for all fight will likely to occur. He couldn't slip out the unwinged Sekirei under those conditions!
"Then what the hell I'm suppose to do?" Homura snapped, stopping to catch his breath and collect his thoughts. Moving at the edge of the building, he spotted multiple MBI helicopters patrolling an area.
No.84's likely location.
"I'm trying to contact Uzume but she's cutoff. Probably got caught up with this Sekirei Hunt. Good news is that Minato-kun and Musubi had returned from their trip and got the text too. They haven't moved yet but it won't last long."
"Huh?" Homura frowned, not really getting as to why he would need Minato. On the other side, he could hear Matsu sigh in exasperation.
"What I'm telling you is to comeback and recruit Minato-kun and Musubi to rescue No.84!" Oh that's what she meant.
"Okay first of all, that reckless. I can't simply come there and recruit them. They don't have a stake in rescuing.no.84. If they do, that would be betraying the point of rescuing No.84!"
"You don't trust him huh?" Matsu replied at the other end with a teasing tone, making Homura frowned even harder.
"It's not about trust. I just don't know what kind of person Minato is." Homura grumbled.
"Then treat this as test of character of sorts. If Minato-kun helped you without betraying your goal, he passes. If betray you, I will tell Miya immediately and she will have Emiya-kun throw out their stuff and kick them out of the inn."
"That's a little harsh." Homura can't help but sweat a little at the threat.
"Well that's life, Homura. Sometimes we just have to take a gamble. Isn't he supposed to be your destined Ashikabi? This way, you will truly get to know him." Homura can't even fault her for that despite his resentment.
"Alright. I'm going back immediately." Homura finally decided, turning around to return immediately to the inn to get some much needed help.
"If you could, please tell me what's No.84's status right now?" He asks to the tech savvy Sekirei.
"At the moment, she's being chased and corralled by multiple Sekirei but..."
"But what?"
"Whatever No.84 is doing, she's giving them a very hard time in capturing her. I won't be even surprised if she evades these pursuers entirely by her own!"
Homura sighs in relief. That's good, that meant No.84 is fairly competent to survive on her lonesome without his support for now. Needless to say, he has to move quickly in getting help or something else might happen to the poor Sekirei.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Staring at the monitors, Matsu watched in great interest as No.84 fend off her pursuers with abilities far beyond said Sekirei. As a mind type, Matsu had the ability of a Technopath. That meant she's able to access any electronic devices and control them with ease. In the digital age of the internet and modernization, her power reign supreme among the mind types of the Sekirei.
As such, it was easy for her to gain access and learn about No.84's files. Upon reading said file, there's a lot of inconsistencies.
Like when did the girl was able to fight four Sekirei at the same time. One of them being a scrapped number too, a very powerful Sekirei that winged themselves by accident due to their own power!
Something isn't adding up. As such, she made the decision to call back Homura to get some support from their new housemates. Not only it would be a test for Minato's character but also for Homura's protection. Matsu cared for the male Sekirei and it would be a shame if he was terminated early in the game. As one of the only Sekirei against to the Sekirei Plan as a whole, Homura's continued participation is a must in her later plans.
The second reason is to see Minato-kun in action.
Homura isn't the the only one reacting yesterday night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dodging another wind blade, Yashima watched as it slashed on a car, splitting the vehicle in half.
"Could you stop dodging and just surrender already! Mikogami-sama will treat you better than any Ashikabi, so quit it!" Her attacker scowled, once again trying to persuade her into what could only described as forced winging.
Forced winging, the act of winging a Sekirei not reacting to an Ashikabi, locking them in a relationship.
Yashima spat at the girl's feet in response. Not after Junichi, winging herself is the last thing she had in mind. Her current goal is to find that man and get her answers. Entering another pact with another Ashikabi feels wrong and horrid to her. The memories of her abuse and Junichi's voice echoing in her head coming into mind, warning her of what it entails of being winged.
Absolute loyalty.
Not again, she can't. Not yet!
"Damn it, Yomi! Are you trying to terminate her?! Mikogami-sama wants her!" Then there's the second.
Yashima cursed. With MBI patrolling and the amount of Sekirei running around, she hadn't realized she's been quarantined on an abandoned street. Before she knew it, thick mists covered the area, lowering visibility and trapping her in without knowing a safe exit.
Right now, she's facing three Sekirei.
No.43 Yomi, a scythe wielding Sekirei. Moderately tall and thin, has brown hair and eyes, and wears a black gown with matching gloves and stockings, and red accents throughout. She wears red ribbons in her hair and around her neck.
No.38 Mitsuha, a Sekirei with short blonde hair pulled up into twin tails and grey eyes. She wears a black Chinese-style dress with one vertical yellow stripe in the middle of the otherwise black garment, black stockings, frilled white gloves, a frilled black choker, and black high-heeled shoes. Her weapon is a whip.
She hadn't seen the third Sekirei yet but they are clearly hiding in the mist, making it sure she can't escape. Everytime she does, the most would roll in waves, pushing her back to the center or one of the duo would attack to bring her back.
For now, she's stuck in an endless cycle of cat and mouse.
A sharp crack of a whip echoed in the street and Yashima winced as her arm was ensnared tightly by the said weapon.
"No.84, just surrender. We'll take care of you nicely of you do. Our Ashikabi is your best bet in the game." Mitsuha said, straining to pull Yashima towards her. The girl in question dug her feet and resisted as much as possible.
Hearing her words, Yashima wants to laugh. Game? What game? This no game at all! That night woke her up to the reality of things. The Sekirei plan is no game. The outside world is not a safe place at all. Whatever MBI taught them never prepared the Sekirei enough in the human world.
That night she realized, Sekirei aren't the one to be afraid of. In truth, they're nothing but a few fish stuck in a small pond.
No wonder the Disciplinary Squad are the strongest among their kind. They had seen and fought far longer and with more opportunities than their fellow brethren. Yashima felt jealous now. Unfortunately, that jealousy won't help her in her situation.
"Let go!" Yashima roared, swing her arm and the Sekirei attached to it.
"Whoa!" Mitsuha was surprised at the sudden strength, finding herself flung around by her whip before she let go in midair to land safely on adjacent building from the street.
"Tsk!" Yomi clicked her tongue, finding Mitsuha's efforts useless. No.84 is resisting far too much to their liking. At this rate, they have to beat the girl halfway to termination in order to capture her.
While the girl is busy untying herself from Mitsuha's discarded whip, Yomi moved to slash at girl's abdomen. It would wound her but only a little gash. Yomi's hoping to frighten her to submission with such act. Her Ashikabi would be cross at her for damaging the Sekirei but it's a risk she's willing to take to make him happy.
Sensing her attack, Yashima jumped back to avoid the scythe. Clicking her tongue, Yomi continued her assault as she launched consecutive slashes to cut the girl. Backpedaling, Yashima struggled to dodge the attacks but successfully retreated without a scratch albeit clumsily. The good thing is that Yomi accidentally slashed Mitsuha's whip, freeing Yashima's hands.
"Yomi! You bitch, that's my second whip this month!" Mitsuha screeched upon seeing her weapon getting shredded.
"Then get a new one!" Yomi responded, annoyed at the fact Yashima avoided all of her attacks.
With her hands free, Yashima decided to counter attack while the two are separated. Launching herself at the scythe wielding Sekirei, she threw a clumsy punch at the girl. Seeing painfully obvious attack, Yomi scoffed and raised her scythe to block it with the weapon's shaft. After blocking said attack, she could use the blade of her scythe to slash at Yashima's back. Maybe that would make the girl cooperative afterwards.
What Yomi didn't expect is the explosive power behind said punch. Her eyes widen in shock as the shaft of her weapon broke like a twig with Yashima's fist. Her weapon was made by MBI, created to last through the entire Sekirei Plan even. To see her own weapon fail, it was alarming for the girl.
Then Yashima's fist landed on her chest.
"Yomi!" Mitsuha cried as she watched her partner fly with a single punch, crashing straight into a store in an explosion of glass.
Seeing the opportunity, Yashima broke into a sprint in a random direction in hopes to escape the entrapment. With Yomi down and both Sekirei lacking weapon as she was, she had a chance to escape.
Too bad the third Sekirei decided to reveal herself at the time.
"Ack!" Yashima choked as a chop hit her throat. From the mist, the third Sekirei and the one generating the mists revealed themselves.
She is curvaceous female with long, straight grey hair and violet eyes. She wears an elegant white dress which has long, flowing sleeves and a bottle-shaped cutout that reveals roughly half of her breasts, and her midriff and stomach to just below her belly button.
"Mitsuha! Check on Yomi if she's been terminated!" The new Sekirei ordered Mitsuha, breaking the blonde girl out of her shock.
Coughing, Yashima held her throat as she observed her new opponent. They're clearly an elemental type. If it comes to physical ability, she would come out on top easily but with this mists, there's nothing to say whatever tricks her opponent have in their sleeves.
"MBI was right in their decision to have you hunted down. Your far too strong for your number." They said before the mists became more thicker. By then, Yashima can't see anything except her own hands.
Then the attacks began.
They came from all directions. Left, right, above and below. She has no idea where the next one is coming, forcing her to defend herself by blocking her face and chest. That left her back and abdomen open for the girl to attack mercilessly. Yet despite the abuse, Yashima gritted her teeth and endured. Slowly hbut surely, her defenses started to crumble as the third Sekirei's attacks piled up. By now Yashima's clothes has been stripped, leaving her naked except her panties to keep her modesty intact.
"Do you surrender? This doesn't have to end in your termination just because your stubborn." The question echoed around her, as if mocking her.
"Ha...ha...ha... I won't." Yashima panted, yet her body felt burning. Everything ached and she want nothing more than sleep.
But she can't.
If lose unconscious, she might wake up again into a nightmare. No, she can't have that. She doesn't want that.
She wants to stay FREE!!!
[We'll said, dear.]
Then something crashed besides her and her hand found grip on a familiar weight of a weapon.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A few minutes earlier...
"What is it, Karasuba?" Shirou asks he arrived on the rooftop where Karasuba is overseeing the ongoing fight below.
Naturally, Shirou ignored it. He has no qualms of ignoring the fight between Sekirei, Karasuba's species. Whatever quarrel they have, he has no stake to it. If he was still that naive boy, he would probably in the thick of it, throwing himself in a conflict where he had no idea off and ending up with everybody killed.
Yep, he's still brooding even after Miya let him cry on her shoulders. It helped a little to vent but Karasuba's text ruined it.
Who the hell text's this?
The text:
I'm horny. Come to this address.
He was lucky Miya was holding Sakura or else if the landlady saw the text, she would throttle him like Rin whenever he does something stupid.
Like fighting Berserker solo.
"Ooh? Didn't you miss me, Sahashi-kun?" Karasuba greeted him with a knowing smirk.
"That's not my name and also that's my new neighbor's name." Shirou replied with exasperation. Meanwhile, Karasuba blinked.
"You met a Sahashi?" She asks.
"Yup. A boy named Minato. Do you know him?" He asks back.
"Aah, Musubi-chan's Ashikabi." Karasuba spoke out loud before nodding in satisfaction. Shirou can only look at her with a blank expression.
"...What are you playing at Karasuba?" He asks, now using a tone that would terrify anyone in the 5th Holy Grail War. A servant who's summoned to erase Fuyuki.
"Ah ah ah. Prying on a woman's secret is bad, Shirou." Karasuba wagged her fingers in front of his face.
This is why he hated dealing with Karasuba. The Sekirei is too flighty and random to predict. Their current relationship could only summarized as mutual benefits. He needed Karasuba's cooperation to avoid MBI's frequent attempts of contacting him. Meanwhile, she gets entertainment by fighting him once in a while in secluded areas of ShinTokyo whenever she's 'horny' in her words.
But today looks different.
"What's with MBI flooding the city?" He asks instead.
"Well if you want to know, can I get a kiss?" His look of disgust is more than enough as a reply and make her laugh.
"Please don't joke about that."
"I can't help it." Karasuba said between laughs, "You always have the best reactions, Shirou-kun."
"But to be honest, MBI is currently hosting a game. Wanna learn about it? Maybe you might find yourself in it?" She continued, waggling her eyebrows in emphasis.
Honestly, the 5th Holy Grail War is more than enough to traumatized him to any big events like it. The PTSD behind the war is more than for him start launching Noble Phantasms like a certain Archer if triggered. If it weren't for Sakura's presence, he would have already gone insane by now. Turns out becoming a Dad does work as therapy.
Still, curiosity got to him and so he agreed to listen to Karasuba as they watch the concealed fight.
He wished he didn't.
Sekirei? Alien species? Ashikabi partners? Sekirei plan?
The entire thing is nothing more than one giant fucking experiment.
He can't help but scoff at the idea. Whatever Minaka plotted in this so called game, he has ulterior motives. The prize? Too vague to be worth it. Then the effort to do the entire thing. With MBI's influence and wealth, they could easily host the game in an isolated island for a more safer and exciting Battle Royal if that eccentric CEO is a given. So why in ShinTokyo? Why cull the Sekirei? What's the end goal?
Also, hard to say it but Shirou found some new found respect to Karasuba. For a whimsical woman, she does have a sense of responsibility and duty.
"So what's happening below is an event by Minaka?"
"Yup. A Sekirei escaped MBI labs before we could give her clean slate to go. Minaka-sama then decided to make it a game instead. So here we are. I just invited you here to make you aware what's happening in the city. Can't have you stumbling in one by accident. It would be a shame if my favorite human end up in an accident. That would mean I have to murder some feathers as compensation."
"Wow, I felt so privilege." Karasuba laughed at his sarcasm. Curious, he leaned down to see the fight. The entire street is covered in a thick mist but he can sense all of them with his nose.
That's when a familiar scent entered his nose.
"Yashima?" A name came to mind.
"Oh, so you are familiar to this escapee." Karasuba muttered, giving him an expectant look to explain himself.
"Met her and her Ashikabi one night. Killed the trash and left her." He explained briefly.
"Oh I think you did more than that." This time, Karasuba's serious.
"I already explained to you how we Sekirei function. When we arrived, Yashima is terminated level one. But upon arrival at MBI, she was reactivated and have regressed to an unwinged state. It's why MBI kept her and been trying to catch her but we can't." Karasuba explained as she placed her hands on his chest. I was talker than her, making her look up with a bloodthirsty smile and eyes longing for violence.
"Instead of an easy capture, me and my squad found ourselves outspeed and outmaneuvered by an experienced Sekirei who had somehow gained a boosts in power. Strength, Agility and Endurance, we have observed her capability as Sekirei outstrips any other Sekirei in the roster except for the Scrap numbers and yours truly." She cooed, touching his face. He didn't move nor stop her. It's better to let her vent out first before it comes to violence. Already, he had Argonaut (Medea's Noble Phantasm) ready behind his back.
"You did something to her when you met. And guess what? Whatever you did, it reminded me of someone who's far stronger than me. Mind guessing who?"
"Miya." He answered. How did he know? Simply put, he saw Miya's blade and learned her story albeit bits and pieces. Karasuba only confirmed it with her reaction.
"You're really something, Shirou-kun. Makes me want you more for myself." She said after recovering from her surprise. I snorted at the idea. As if this woman would actually settle down. Despite her attitude, Karasuba loved violence and a good fight.
Something he can't give to her.
Then something interrupted Shirou's thoughts.
[Oi! Your Reality Marble is going crazy! One of your hack weapons are trying to escape!]
What!?
Then he felt it. A weapon from his Reality Marble is reacting, trying to trace itself into the world. It was something he wasn't prepared for. As such, he wasn't able to stop it.
Immediately as it arrived, it shot straight down to the fight.
That's when Shirou realized, something is stirring deep within his Reality Marble.
"What was that?" Karasuba asks, eyes wide in surprise as she gripped his shirt.
He had no idea but someone does. Time to meet that bastard again.
~~~~~~~~~~~
Vote:
Now for the fun part, which weapon do you think attuned to Yashima?
I already picked one but if any of you have better suggestions, I'm open to it.