#################################
"Sheesh, they really went all out yesterday."
Reading the newspaper and cross referencing the forums, Seo got a gist of what happened in yesterday's excitement.
"MBI dropped the ball on this one and a lot of Ashikabi is butt hurt for sure." Seo whistled, reading the rant of a particularly notorious Ashikabi.
Mikogami of the South.
Mikogami Hayato, some rich heir or something, made a name of himself by collecting a few strong pieces in the Sekirei Plan. One of them being Mutsu, one of the strongest Sekirei in existence and his presence alone made him a top contender among the Sekirei Plan. The boy easily carved a territory for himself in the city and collected more pieces for himself, treating it as a genuine game.
It's rather disgusting if one thinks deeply about it.
Yet in one day, Mikogami almost lost multiple pieces (sadly he only lost one) and his strongest Sekirei crippled, Mutsu's sword hand amputated by what the twins gathered and what little the forums could tell him. For something like that to happen on Mutsu, it's unthinkable. What kind of Sekirei would be able to do that on a monster like Mutsu?
The sad thing is, Seo has no idea. All evidence leads to MBI's little runaway which is no.84, Yashima, a rather weak Sekirei and a deadbeat Ashikabi. Junichi Tanigawa, a kid who's been in and out of the police station due to various petty crimes. No one has seen the guy for quite a while and now his Sekirei is now labeled a runaway with a bounty on her head?
What the hell is going on?
"Seo! Get your lazy bum off the couch and get back to work! You'll be late and if you lose this job, I swear!!!" Seo grimaced as the telltale sound of crackling lightning came from one of his moodier Sekirei. Why can't Hikari be like Hibiki for once?
"Alright! Alright! I'm going!" Seo called out, not wanting to get struck by lightning today.
"Later girls, don't look for me. I'll come home late for some info gathering." He shouted before closing the door of his dingy apartment.
Time to get some much needed info.
######
"An anomaly you say?" Higa said, rolling the word in his tongue as his mind went through what his secretary just reported to him.
"Yes. No. 84 is nothing short of an anomaly to MBI and to the Sekirei plan itself as what our spies said." Kakizaki, always dutiful to his position, adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "Initial reports said that No.84 was terminated and recovered to MBI labs as usual a few days ago only for said Sekirei to reactivate herself for no particular reason. What's more curious is that the Sekirei now registers as an unwinged Sekirei."
"She unwinged herself? That's impossible." He of course knew that because he himself tried to do it. Higa's surprised at that tidbit of information for sure. He of course knew that unwinging a Sekirei is truly impossible as he and his company already made such tests multiple times in order to procure said Sekirei for his company. Of course, they haven't gone through extreme tests yet as it would definitely backfire against an unknown species.
But to hear that it was done by someone other than them or MBI? It's improbable.
"Does MBI have any leads to what or who causes it?" He asks immediately.
"Unfortunately no. MBI are as clueless as we are." Kakizaki shook his head, much to Higa's disappointment.
"Keep a close eye on that front. If we gain the means of unwinging Sekirei, we will have the power to steal all Sekirei in the city and take control of MBI if possible." No one would expect that Higa's ambitious for someone like him. Despite his reserved disposition, he's still a cutthroat businessman and a successful one at that despite inheriting his company.
"Our spies are already on it, Higa-sama." His secretary replied.
"What is the progress of hacking in MBI's intelligence?" He asked again, already expecting a lackluster answer as usual but he hoped each day it would be different.
"Unfortunately, Kochou is still unable to dig deeper into MBI servers. Whatever intelligence she could pull out without being exposed are still negligible and unimportant." Kakizaki replied and once more Higa was disappointed.
"Useless." Higa sneered at him.
Kochou is by far the most useful Sekirei they have. The ability to access, manipulate and gather information through electronic devices was a godsend and Higa is not above abusing such a gift. Minaka, that eccentric and annoying fool, is definitely planning something and Higa doesn't know what it is.
He hates it when he doesn't know something.
Whatever Minaka is cooking up in his demented mind, it's definitely concerning. Why would a fool like him release a bunch of godforsaken creatures to the city and put them on a massive battle royal for an ambiguous prize?
What is the prize even? Minaka never specified what it is and Higa hated it!
As such, Higa will not play his game. No, he would gather his power, consolidate as much as he can and when the time is right, strike at MBI's center and take whatever they have locked up under that tower.
Whatever MBI is protecting, Higa wanted it.
And it will be his no matter what.
"Continue the usual operations. Put an eye on No.84 in the meantime and monitor her. We will capture her when the time is right." Higa orders. Kakizaki nods and takes his leave, leaving Higa alone to plot for his inevitable rise to power.
######
"Is he alright?"
"What's going on?"
"Mikogami-sama is angry so quit it!"
"Shush everyone."
"He's just playing. He haven't eaten yet since yesterday."
"We're all concern yes but not now. Our Ashikabi needs space."
Yomi bit her lip, listening to her fellow Sekirei flock and whisper concerns for their Ashikabi. She too wanted nothing more than to comfort her Ashikabi yet she's too ashamed and injured.
Yesterday's outing was nothing short of a disaster. They lost Taki and sustained injuries ranging from small to crippling, especially Mutsu.
When she and Mitsuha stumbled on Mutsu bleeding out with a missing arm, she had threaten the other girl to go get Mutsu to MBI.
It was a disaster.
One simple outing and it turned out like this. Yomi hated it and hated the one who did it.
No.84 Yashima.
That's a name she will not forget anytime soon. She promises herself, whenever she gets the chance, she will kill that bitch for crippling Mutsu and making her Ashikabi distraught. Forget about the rules, she will kill her!
One way or another.
For now, she needs to heal. That damned bitch broke her ribs with a single punch. No 84 may be strong but she will find a way.
Sooner or later.
#############
Deep in MBI Tower...
"Damn! You really outdid yourself, Shirou-kun." Minaka said with glee as he watch the footage of Mutsu and Yashima fighting.
To anyone who would stumble into this scene, one wouldn't able to recognize the man that is called Hiroto Minaka. The eccentric and happy go lucky doctor is gone, replaced by a cold calculating magi as Minaka's glasses lay on the table instead of it's usual perch.
Minaka already knew that Shirou's an enigma and a powerful magi on his own by winning the Grail War by default as no one really knows what had happened in the ritual, but this footage alone changed Minaka's insight on the boy.
Honest to God, Noble Phantasm.
And with the way the boy treats it, he theoretically possesses more!
Oh this is rich. Minaka's mind is already running through all kinds of possibilities yet none came close to being plausible. How did the boy got access to Noble Phantasms? Could be in the war but best he could gather is one at best scenario, not multiple Noble Phantasms. Truly a mystery and Minaka loved solving puzzles like this.
Unfortunately, he cannot do so openly. He already made a verbal pact with boy and he'd rather not earn the enmity of someone trained by the Magus Killer. The Magus Killer's tricks are the stuff of nightmares among magi and he'd rather not experience that in this lifetime.
Even so, the boy having access to Noble Phantasms doesn't really change anything than make him feel proud. In the whole scheme, it doesn't change anything at all. The Sekirei Plan would still go on as planned and with the boy having no interest or any stake to the Plan, he's on a smooth ride.
*Ring* *Ring* *Ring* *Ring*
Now if only these damned leeches just stopped bothering him and leave this country entirely!
"Hello, this is your mother's house. Sorry she's not available today cause she just had a hefty meal courtesy of me so just leave a voicemail and maybe I'll get back to you." Minaka answered the phone with a little bit of malice and a mischievous grin, wishing he could see the reaction on those smug western pricks on the other end.
"Really, Minaka? A mom joke?"
"Waver! My good man it's been long!" Minaka's face lit up after recognizing the voice, a friend.
"We talked a week ago." The man on the other end grumbled.
"And I already missed you. How's the laptop I sent you? Still working on that trashpit?" Minaka ignored the man's statement.
"Calling the Clocktower a trashpit is a bit harsh but I won't say it's not accurate. As for your gift, it's a godsend. Still not worth it in bailing you out of the Clocktower's sights. They are still demanding access to your city." Waver said before bringing some bad news to Minaka.
"Of course they will." Minaka scowled, cursing silently at those arrogant pricks, "My city still stands as my entire workshop for a massive scale ritual I'm researching. I cannot allow any Magi or any Church enforcers inside my workshop. If Emiya's in my city, I would know. Tell them they can fuck off."
"Damn it, Minaka." Waver cursed, "I know your research is important but the Clocktower is rallying behind this. The Einzberns are pushing the hunt to continue and the Clocktower is more than happy enough to indulge them. Whatever happened in Fuyuki and the Grail War, they all wanted answers." Waver said.
"If they found you harboring Emiya, they will kill you." Waver warned him.
"How sure are you that I'm harboring the boy?" Minaka asked with a smirk.
"I saw your products and connected the dots. Your lucky most Magi doesn't care about hardware or guns at all." So the lord knee about his deals with Kiritsugu.
"Damn. Nothing really gets pass on that sharpmind of yours." Minaka whistled, impressed at the man's deduction.
"What's your plan?"
"Simple. Continue my research while ignoring everyone else as usual! Me and the boy already made a pact to not interfere with each other's back. Not like the boy can do anything much when he's taking care of his baby."
"Baby?"
"Yup! I'm a grandad now! How cool is that!?" Minaka bragged.
"... You're Emiya's biological father?" Minaka eyes widen as he realized his mistake.
"Fuck...can you ignore that bit."
"..." The line went dead.
"Fuck." Minaka cursed.
While the magus anxiously try to call his friend again, he failed to sense or suspect that his being monitored.
Little does he know, his life is now at a deadline.
(Next Arc: Sakura Days)