"Shirou-nii-san," Kuu-chan began, looking up at me with her big sad eyes as her lower lip trembled slightly, "does onii-san not love Kuu-chan anymore?" With the innocence that only a child could have while delivering a line like that, the tiniest resident of Izumo House dropped her bomb of a question.
"
What?" I began, equal parts confused and equal parts appalled that the little girl had asked me something so strange completely out of the blue. "No!" I hastily assured her, kneeling down to put myself at eye level with the youngest Sekirei. "What on earth made you think that, Kuu-chan?"
Stepping up into my arms, Kuu fisted her hands into my shirt, burying her face into my chest as I hugged her. Sniffling slightly, she peeked up at me from beneath her bangs. "Because onii-chan doesn't love Ma-chan anymore," the green girl whimpered, giving me a wet glance. "If onii-chan can stop loving Ma-chan, then it means you could stop loving Kuu-chan too!"
I tucked her head back down as I hugged her, partially to give her comfort and partially to keep her from seeing my face as I grimaced at her reasoning. "Now, Kuu-chan," I began, speaking slowly as I collected my thoughts. "What makes you think that I don't love 'Ma-chan', anymore?"
'Ma-chan' was Kuu's childish nick name for Matsu. The young girl had already assigned appropriate nicknames for most of the residents of Izumo House over the course of the weeks that we had lived together. Much like her other brother 'Shi-chan', most of her chosen nicknames tended to lean towards simply using the first syllable of a person's name and attaching the obligatory '-chan' at the end of it. The sole exceptions of this rule of thumb for Kuu's naming scheme were myself, Miya, and surprisingly Kazehana. Whereas I was firmly stuck with the title of 'Onii-chan', Miya had found herself with the handle 'Miya-onee-san', making her the most formally addressed of the house, while Kazehana was officially called 'Fuu-chan'. With 'fuu' being one of the alternative pronunciations of the first kanji of her name and easier to pronounce then 'kaze' it was a nickname that made a degree of sense on its own, though I did wonder how Kuu had come up with it. I wasn't aware just how much skill the youngest Sekirei had when it came to reading kanji, and I had no idea if she had decided on the nick name herself or had help when coming up with it.
"Because Ma-chan doesn't come out of her room anymore," Kuu explained, squirming a bit in my arms until I loosened up my grip. Still clutching my sleeve with one hand as though to ensure through physical contact that I wasn't about to change my mind about whether or not I still loved her, she put the other hand to her chin as a fierce expression of concentration appeared on her little face. "Kuu-chan doesn't know what happened, but when she went to sleep, everything was fine and everyone was really happy for Aki-chan," she continued, no doubt recalling the events of the party she had been awake for. It had been a bit of mercy in my opinion that she had managed to sleep through the confrontation which had shaken Izumo House to its core. "But when Kuu-chan woke up, Shii-chan was gone. Miya-onee-san didn't know where they were, and everyone seemed really sad. When Kuu-chan tried to ask Ma-chan what happened, Ma-chan wouldn't open her door!"
"First of all, don't worry about Shii-chan," I reassured the girl, and Kuu perked up immediately at the mention of her other big brother. "He's just going out with Yukari for a bit. They should be back on Saturday for dinner, and you'll be able to play with him again then."
"Really?" Kuu immediately brightened up at the news, finally releasing my shirt so she could frame her face with her hands in excitement. "Shii-chan will be back?"
"Just for a bit," I reminded her, not wanting her to get to excited about the idea of Shiina returning only for her to throw a temper tantrum afterwards when he had to head off again. "Yukari and Shiina are both very busy with their new jobs."
Kuu pouted, stomping her foot and dropping her hands to the side so she could fist them angrily as she fumed at the mention of my biological little sister. "It's all because of that girl that Kuu-chan can't play with Shiina all the time!" the green girl muttered childishly. "It would have been better if Onii-chan married Shii-chan instead! Then Kuu-chan could have played with both all the time!"
"Uhhh," I began, not quite certain about how to respond to the little girl's belief that I would have been a superior Ashikabi to number one hundred and seven. I was aware that the sole basis of her claim was the fact that if I had winged the young male Sekirei then Kuu would have both of her favorite people in the world around, but that didn't make the idea behind it any more appealing to me. I couldn't help but notice that Kuu also refused to refer to Yukari by name, instead using the same phrasing that Kazehana preferred whenever the wind user was referring to Takami. It made me wonder just how much time the younger Sekirei had been spending with the wind user.
"But if onii-chan doesn't not love Ma-chan anymore, than why is Ma-chan so sad?" Kuu pressed on, switching back to the original topic she had wanted to talk to me about without a second thought, not giving me time to come up with a convincing argument why it was for the best that Shiina was with Yukari and not me. "Why won't Ma-chan play with Kuu anymore?"
"Matsu is," I began, averting my eyes and scratching my head as I tried to find a way to explain what was going on to the young Sekirei. "Matsu did something very naughty," I finally settled on. "Because of that she's been sent to her room to think about what she did."
"Oh," Kuu gasped, her hands coming up to cover her mouth as her eyes widened. "But Kuu-chan thought that when people did something naughty it was a good thing! Before Ma-chan got sent to her room she said that Aki-chan and onii-chan did something naughty and were very happy!"
"Oh," I echoed the girls original statement, my voice considerably drier than the innocent young girl's was. "Is that what Matsu said?" And if she wasn't already in my bad graces that right there would have earned a lecture of epic proportions, with Miya's help as well and both of us with masks out and blazing. "Then what I meant to say was that Matsu did something 'bad', not 'naughty'."
"Oh," Kuu nodded, apparently now being able to distinguish between the two with one being good and the other not. "Is that why everyone else is so sad? Because Ma-chan was bad?" she asked softly, and I gave a reluctant nod. "Then eventually, onii-chan will love Ma-chan again? And Ma-chan will come out of her room?"
"Absolutely," I told the hopeful little girl, whose eyes widened in happiness as she took my answer to mean that eventually things would go back to the way they were. I didn't have the heart to tell her that the answer was meant more for the fact that Matsu would have to come out of her room somdeay. Whether or not things ever went back to the way they were before, well that was another matter.
"Then, then," Kuu began to bounce happily. "Kuu-chan is going to draw Ma-chan a bunch of pictures," the green girl proclaimed, throwing her hands up and waving them in a circle to indicate the mountain of sketch work she would prepare while waiting for Matsu's eventual reemergence. "Kuu-chan will slide them under Ma-chan's door, so Ma-chan won't be so sad while waiting until she can come out!"
"I think Matsu will like that," I told her, rubbing her wild blonde hair and tousling it further than it normally was. She beamed up at me from beneath my hand and her bangs, releasing a tiny giggle before she turned and scampered out of my room, already calling for Miya to prepare the crayons and paper as she began her artistic quest. The smile I had plastered on my face slowly disappeared when she had fully scampered out of my sight.
If only the situation with Matsu was really as simple as I had made it out to be.
Sighing, I moved to the window of my room, looking out on to the courtyard. As childish as the conversation had been, Kuu's juvenile summation of the current state of Izumo House was a fairly accurate one. It was just that since she was asleep, she had missed the real reason that everyone in Izumo House was acting different from what she remembered. It had been three days since the revelations that Matsu had forced out of me had shattered the harmony of the Inn, and it didn't look like things were going to go back to normal anytime soon.
It was late into the afternoon, usually around the time that I spent in my workshop though for the last few days I hadn't had the opportunity to find the time to immerse myself in my research as was my habit. It was because of that I was treated to the sight of Musubi and Miya engaging in one of their spars. I hadn't had much opportunity to see the two's ritual before, but I had to admit that it was impressive in its own way. Miya was fast, her sheathed blade plucking away at her opponent, her unusual and probably self created style of quick and loose moves that took advantage of her natural physical abilities a contrast to my own tightly controlled style. Musubi on the other hand was just as fast, more likely a sign of the landlady holding back then an indication of parity between their abilities, but far less refined in her movements. I had sat in on some of their earlier sessions, and I was able to make out definite improvement in the fist fighter since then.
Musubi had been one of the ones the least affected by the revelations of three days ago. In fact, it wouldn't be inaccurate to say that there had been no change in her at all. I wasn't certain if this was due to Musubi not understanding the implications of what my participation in the Grail War had truly meant, or if the shrine girl simply didn't care. Despite the changes in the other residents after they had learned the extent of battle experience, Musubi remained as she always had, cheerful and oblivious. In a way I supposed that kind of reaction made sense to me. It had been the same for me, during the Grail War after all. Much in the same way that the bodies at the school had simply been things I was accustomed to, for Musubi life and death battles were just things she was too familiar with to be affected by. If anything, the bigger reaction Musubi had given had been at the change in dynamics of Izumo House, but even the growing tension had been dismissed by the shrine girl. I had no doubt that she simply believed that the love between Sekirei and Ashikabi would see everyone through alright.
My gaze rested on Miya for a moment, and as though she could feel them the landlady glanced up briefly, her eyes meeting mine before she turned them back to her opponent. Miya had also been similarly unimpressed by the revelation of my credentials. That wasn't to say she had been unaffected by the conversation; far from it in fact. It was just that the part Miya found disturbing was very different from what the rest had. I don't know what it was that my wild guesses over what the true purpose of the Sekirei Plan might be had called to mind for the powerful creature, but whatever it was it was enough for me to occasionally find Miya kneeling in front of her husband's shrine with a serious face, lost in thought more often than in the past.
I suppose it made sense that she would choose to focus on that instead of my irregular past. After all, she had seen with her own eyes the wounds on my hands close, and my blood stained swords vanish, not to mention that she had heard me offer to assassinate Minaka before. The only one who knew even more about my true nature was Akitsu.
A clink of chain behind me drew my attention from the window and back to the other occupant of the room. Sure enough, in the corner to the side of the window, Akitsu knelt, her eyes on me as she kept her careful vigil on me. Perhaps the title of least affected by the revelation should rightfully go to the snow woman, though she had changed a bit since that day herself.
I had been a bit worried when I had first proposed the prana exchange ritual to Akitsu, and for more reasons than just whether or not the ritual would be successful. Sex changes relationships, and sometimes not always for the better. And that's for a normal relationship, the kind where it's typically just two members of the opposite gender. For a relationship like the one I had found myself in, one that not only involved opposite gender, but multiple partners and an interspecies aspect of it as well, I had been very nervous how things would be altered once I took that final step.
So far the biggest change in the interactions between Akitsu and I was the small smile which seemed to have become a permanent fixture of the snow woman's face. I don't think it had left her lips since she had remade her oath of 'Forever and Ever'. Beyond that, Akitsu behaved much in the same way as she always had: choosing to remain as close as possible, assuming a customary position of deference, obeying any order I gave her without hesitation. Well, there was one more minor change in her actionsr…
"Ah," the snow woman began, a small blush appearing on her cheeks causing me to realize that I had been staring at her while lost in my thoughts. "Is everything well, Ashikabi-sama?"
"Its fine," I assured her, shaking my head briefly to clear my thoughts. I sighed briefly before turning back to the table, my eyes resting on what lay on top of it. "And please, I've told you before, it's fine to call me Shirou."
"Ah," Akitsu began, sounding vaguely apologetic as she did so. "Understood, Ashikabi-sama."
I suppose it made sense that ever since she had truly been winged that she would refer to me as her Ashikabi at every available instance. It was probably some way of reassuring herself that yes, she really was properly my Sekirei now. That didn't change the fact that I had never really cared for being referred to by a title alone. I had a feeling it would take some time before I ever heard the snow woman say the word 'Shirou' again.
Sighing one more time at the newest addition to my first Sekirei's list of quirks, though I suppose she could alternatively be thought of as my latest by order of winging, I turned my attention back to the object resting on my desk: the doohickey.
Just like Kuu had said earlier, ever since the night where I had taken the hacker's name off the whiteboard, no one had seen or interacted with Matsu. The only ways I had of knowing that she was even still present in Izumo House was the scent of her power, and the fact that the doohickey had been resting outside the door of my room the morning after the incident. At first I had been hesitant to touch it, wondering just why it was that Matsu had placed it there, but in the end I had taken the tablet.
It had only taken me a few minutes of use to realize that it was still connected to Matsu's network and that there had been none of the usual false leads or hidden pornographic traps on it. It only took me a few more minutes when I absentmindedly pulled up Haruka and Kuno's profiles while thinking about what the angry young man might have been up to since he had stormed out the night before for me to realize that their profiles had changed dramatically: information that had once been sketchy at best had been fleshed out, new sections had been added, old sections made easier to access. Thumbing through a few more profiles, I realized that the change hadn't been limited to just the former resident either. Though all the profiles had changed in format, only a few of them also had the dramatic increase in information. The changes had been limited to the Sekirei that I had previously deemed the most dangerous, but as I flicked down the list and one of the profiles I had been looking at suddenly updated with a beep I realized that I could most likely expect that all of them would eventually be similarly completed.
I also discovered an entirely new section, a folder that I hadn't seen before listed with the title of 'MBI' on it. When I clicked on it I discovered that the file contained more information on the company than I had ever asked Matsu to collect before: blue prints for MBI's tower headquarters, personnel lists of employees and their work schedules, contractor records for modifications to the building installed after its original completion, and much more.
Even if I wasn't a genius, it was fairly obvious just what it was that Matsu was doing. Despite the fact that I had removed her from being able to participate in the same privileges that the rest of my flock had, and despite how obviously upset I was, she was doing her best to ensure that she provided me with the information that I had said I would need.
I honestly didn't know what to feel about the hacker at the moment. A part of me was angry, yes, and another part was disappointed, and yet another part of me was very uncomfortable as well. The anger wasn't over being manipulated into revealing a part of my life that I had wanted to keep concealed. What I was most angry about was how the hacker's actions had directly resulted in the danger that she had placed my sister and the rest in. With Haruka angry and lashing out, and Yukari already treating the entire thing like something out of her manga, there was no way of knowing how successful the two would be at keeping themselves from drawing the attention of any potential watchers from Clock Tower. Their lives were in very real danger, and both of them didn't seem to understand just how serious the situation was. That alone would be enough for me to have punished Matsu as I had.
But I was also disappointed that Matsu had felt the need to manipulate me the way she had. And even more so I was uncomfortable with the fact that she had been able to in the first place.
Earlier Kusano had asked me if I still loved her and Matsu. Before that Matsu had told me that the bond that Sekirei formed with their Ashikabi was one of love. Hell, Musubi practically lived and breathed love herself, the emotion seemingly her very reason of existence. I wasn't sure if it was due to my circumstances, or if it was just some ingrained masculine sensibility that society had impressed on me, but I wasn't ashamed to admit that hearing the word 'love' thrown about so casually made me distinctly uncomfortable.
It wasn't that I was unfamiliar with the emotion, as I was certain that I had loved Rin and Saber, but there was some part of me that wondered if what I felt for my Sekirei was the same thing. I cared for them yes, I was fond of them, I was even attracted to a good number of them physically. But there was a part of me that saw them with the cold eyes of a magus, and an even greater part of me that saw them with the jaded perspective of a warrior. They were my partners in battle, the man and women that I would rely on when violence erupted, the ones that would be watching my back, and whose backs I would be watching. They were aliens that had a unique mating cycle that I had happened to get caught up in the middle of, and whose biology I had accepted and accommodated for. I knew that it was their nature to give their hearts completely, but I had thought that it would take me more time before I might be able to do the same, and in fact wasn't certain I would ever be able to return their devotion, not to the same extent.
So why was it that I felt so betrayed by Matsu's actions? If I was still holding a piece of myself back, still keeping myself as cautious as I thought I had been, why had I felt so disappointed when the hacker betrayed my trust? More importantly, why was I so uncomfortable that she had been able to do what she had so easily? She had known just what to do in order to maneuver me into a situation where I would reveal myself. In retrospect, it hadn't even been the first time. She had done nearly the exact same thing when she had managed to convince me to talk about Saber and Rin in the first place. What did it mean that she had done so?
Matsu had told me that a Sekirei was motivated to obey their Ashikabi out of love. I had taken that to mean that they would be obedient to the orders of their partners, and from what I had seen from other Sekirei that seemed true to an extent. What I had failed to anticipate was the possibility that the same feelings might one day motivate the Sekirei to one day take the initiative without their Ashikabi's knowledge. Matsu had known that I would be angry with her plan to force a confrontation out of me. She had prepared herself for the consequences, and even now she was using the information she had pulled out of me as a guide to help her continue to aid me in accomplishing my stated goals. But if she was able to do something which was in deliberate opposition of my own personal wishes for my own good, what else might she be able to do? Would she conceal information that might cause me to endanger myself? Or maybe she might one day try to injure or cripple me in order to keep me from going out and participating in a battle?
Had I been dealing with another Caster like from the Grail War all this time and never realized it?
If Matsu was a human and we had been in a normal relationship, I would already have broken up with her already. Even without those two important points, I was still considering ending our current relationship anyway. The idea that the hacker might end up being an enemy nearly had me asking one of the other members of her species for help in removing the redhead's crest. The thought of testing out just what Rule Breaker would do to a winged Sekirei had also been entertained a few times in the last few days. I had no way of knowing if it would simply remove the species Crest and leave them back in their unwinged state, or if the loss of the Crest through the Noble Phantasm would result in a level one termination.
I hadn't seriously entertained the thought of following through with either course of actions. For all that Matsu had proven herself to be capable of circumventing my authority and moving against my personal wishes, there had been no indication that she had done so out of deliberate malice at this point. If anything, with the new information she had acquired about MBI and the detailed profiles that she was completing on the rest of the participants, she had shown that whatever the consequences of her actions, she was more than prepared to do everything she could to help me.
Which was good, because what it all came down to was that I NEEDED Matsu for the rest of the tournament to come as well. Without the brilliant hacker, my options would be limited, and I would effectively be reduced to operating on the same level as the other Ashikabi. It wouldn't be a bad fate if all I had to worry about was completing the Sekirei Plan according to the rules, but if there truly was something rotten at MBI, or if one of the other Ashikabi did begin to endanger the uninvolved citizens of Shin Tokyo, without Matsu my options for dealing with whatever situation had developed would be greatly reduced.
It wouldn't be the first time I had had to work with someone I didn't trust. I had managed to put up with Archer for a bit after all despite my instant dislike of him, even if he had eventually betrayed Rin and tried to kill me. And I had to deal with some other magi before as well during the time I had participated in the two Apostle hunts. There had been some unpleasant fellows involved then as well, magi who hadn't taken to well to an upstart 'Emiya' apprentice, and had liked it even less when I had proven to be a more valuable combat asset than they themselves had been.
I could work with Matsu for now. But trusting the redhead, that was another matter.
"Shirou," a new voice interrupted my tumultuous thoughts, and I glanced towards the door to discover that at some point Tsukiumi had entered the room. The proud blonde was hovering by the door, not quite fidgeting where she stood, but seemingly incapable of meeting my eyes as she stood awkwardly by.
It wasn't a new trend. Tsukiumi had been dealing with the fall out of last Saturday herself, in her own way. Whenever the water user was in my presence she would, for lack of a better term, flutter between being acting in her normal proud fashion and dissolving into a quiet stuttering girl. I suppose that made sense in its own way too. Tsukiumi had made no effort to hide her belief that she was the strongest in the Sekirei Plan. The proud water user had often espoused the belief in the past that it was a Sekirei's duty to fight honorably for the honor of the Sekirei Plan. For Tsukiumi, the concept that I was someone capable of standing beside her and fighting on my own wasn't a bad thing. In fact, the water user seemed to approve of my ability to physically contribute to battle. What had thrown her off was not so much my strength, but the revelation of the ruthlessness that I was willing to employ in order to assure my victory.
For a woman who was adamant about following the rules, about always announcing name and number, and afterwards guarding the fallen, the very concept of assassinating Ashikabi or destroying entire corporations was probably incomprehensible. The clash of my ability to match her own ideals followed by my willingness to toss all rules to the wayside was no doubt the source of her discomfort.
In many ways, it was an ideology that I could second. The idea of nobly following the rules and completing the competition according to the letter of the law was something that I wouldn't mind following myself. I think Saber would have agreed as well, though the two blondes didn't seem to have much in common beyond that. Tsukiumi was a good bit taller than Saber, and a great deal more assertive as well. Despite the physical appearance, I frequently couldn't stop myself from noticing just how alike the water user was with Rin when it came to attitude. What, with both of them being classic tsundere and all.
Sometimes, though I would never admit this to anyone out loud, I could honestly believe that when I was nearby Tsukiumi I was somehow in the presence of some sort of twisted hybrid, a clone or homunculus that had managed to twist Saber's appearance and ideals with Rin's attitude. Whoever would dream of such a horrific concept and then find a way to implement it into the world would no doubt be some kind of horrific sadist, no doubt either a Dead Apostle of the highest degree of cruelty, or perhaps some mad playwright out of the depths of hell given flesh.
And despite all that, I couldn't help but believe that Tsukiumi was the most normal of my flock. Compared to distorted Musubi, conflicted Homura, subservient Akitsu, untrustworthy Matsu, and just flat out young and innocent Kusano, Tsukiumi truly was the most normal of my Sekirei. She was the one who planned to follow the Sekirei Plan in a straightforward manner, was proud of her Ashikabi's ability without either worshiping or attempting to coddle me, and was the most earnest in her efforts to be a faithful and loyal wife.
God help me, the tsundere was the sanest and easiest to deal with of my harem.
"Tsukiumi," I answered the water user's soft inquiry. At my voice, Tsukiumi glanced up from the corner of the room she had been studying, peeking up at me from beneath her eyelashes. When her eyes met mine, she glanced down again, flushing as she did so.
"S-Shirou," she began again, her demeanor hesitant as she did so before trailing off. "T-that is," she began again, still stuttering. Finally she managed to look at me directly. "Are you worried about me?"
"Worried?" I repeated, frowning as I did so. I'd admit that I was concerned about the way she had been acting the last few days, yes, but then again I was concerned about everyone in Izumo House at this point. "What do you mean?"
Apparently, that was the wrong answer to give. A scowl formed on Tsukiumi's face, accented by a slight stirring of her hair, and without another word, she half marched and half dashed until she was standing directly in front of me. Without another word, she reached up to wrap my shirt in her hands, and then yanked hard, pulling me slightly off balance until I was bent over enough for our faces to be directly apart from each other.
"I asked if you were worried about me," she repeated, her voice rising as she did so. Off balance from her sudden readjustment to my posture, I nearly fell as she emphasized each word by giving me a little shake. Hurriedly, I raised my own hands, putting them over hers where she was clutching my clothes, trying to get her to calm down.
"I'm worried, I'm worried," I quickly assured her, and the blonde calmed a bit at my words. "I'm worried about everyone," I continued, straightening slightly as the water user's hands slackened. "After last Saturday, I think everyone might be a little off."
Rather than reassuring her, Tsukiumi's frown increased. Still clutching my shirt, she glanced away, glaring at a corner of the room angrily.
"That's not what I meant," she declared, and despite the fact that she still looked angry, her voice was less strident then before. "I meant that the reason you never told me, your wife, about your enemies. Was it because you were worried about me?"
"Of course," I assured her, confused by the inquisition. I had a secret organization of magi that wouldn't hesitate to imprison and experiment on me, and wouldn't care who they hurt along the way. While the worry over what would happen to my family was strong, just as strong was the concern over my Sekirei as well. Yukari and Takami might be killed, but if my flock were discovered, they could find themselves in the exact same predicament I would. "I worry about all of you, like I said."
Tsukiumi slowly let go over my shirt, allowing me to straighten, and one of the hands that had been pulling me down to eye level drifted to her lips, her teeth gently nibbling on her thumb once more.
"It feels good," she admitted, her voice soft. "Being worried about."
With her uncertain posture, looking unusually delicate on someone who spent so much of their time standing tall and proud, and the soft flush on her cheeks accenting her femininity, I was once more reminded just how beautiful the blonde truly was. Without her usual high heeled boots, Tsukiumi seemed smaller than she usually did, but despite her diminished stature there was no way of ignoring her generous curves and her fine features.
"I'm sorry," I told her, not knowing where the words came from, but feeling as though they needed to be said. My apology seemed as unexpected to the water user as it was to me, and Tsukiumi peered up at me, thumb still at her mouth as she blinked.
"For what, Shirou?" she asked, her tone uncertain before her eyes narrowed. Placing both hands on her hips, she began to scowl at me. "Have you done something unbecoming of my husband?" she demanded, her tone rising as she did so.
"I'm sorry for putting you through all this," I explained, sighing as I did so. Now that the words had crossed my lips, thinking about them was enough for their reason to come to my head. "You never wanted an Ashikabi in the first place," I continued, slumping back to lean against the desk as I did so. "And then I came out of nowhere and started reacting to you. Now not only do you have an Ashikabi, but the one you bonded to even has other Sekirei besides you. And if that wasn't enough, he has a death sentence over his head as well. All you ever wanted was to compete in the Sekirei Plan, and here I am thinking of ways to destroy the tournament altogether, and getting all of you mixed up in things you shouldn't have to worry about."
"S-Shirou," Tsukiumi murmured, looking surprised at my sudden confession. I continued, not quite able to keep the self condemnation out of my tone as I did so.
"None of you should have to deal with any of this," I said darkly. "You Sekirei, you shouldn't have to fight. The only thing your species wanted was to find their Ashikabi and live peacefully. And now you have to deal with crooked corporations, and shadowy threats, and violent Ashikabi…"
"Enough," Tsukiumi interrupted, her voice stern as she did so. I broke off, surprised as the water user approached me, drawing closer than even when she had been shaking me. Though her approach started strong, when the distance between the two of us had diminished to only a few inches the water user hesitated. Finally, apparently gathering the courage, Tsukiumi huffed and put her arms around me, embracing me and burying her face into my chest as she did so.
"T-Tsukiumi," it was my turn to stuttered, surprised at the sudden intimacy the usually proud Sekirei was displaying.
"At first, I was disappointed to have to have an Ashikabi," Tsukiumi began, her voice muffled by my body as she spoke. Her pace was slow, and she paused at times, and I had the impression that I wasn't the only one finding themselves giving an unexpected confession. "At first, I just wanted to prove that I could be the strongest without an Ashikabi," she admitted. After pausing, she glanced up at me, only her eyes visible beneath the curtain of her bangs.
So close to her, feeling her press against me, I began to suspect my own face was beginning to flush as much as hers.
"But now," Tsukiumi continued, still looking up to meet my eyes. "Now, I think that I want to fight so that I can be with you, Shirou. I think I would rather use my powers to fight and protect you, rather than just for myself." As though the confession was too much for her, she buried her face back into my chest, her arms tightening around me. "If you tell anyone I said that, then I'll have to kill you."
Still flushed, I forced myself to suppress a smile. Never smile at a dere-ing tsundere. It makes them violent. Instead, I wrapped my arms back around her, returning her embrace. "My lips are sealed," I assured her.
"Good," she nodded against my chest, relaxing further against me. "However," she continued, looking up once more, more of her face visible this time, and a stern look on her features. "Even if I do appreciate your concern, you must understand that it is unnecessary, Shirou." Pulling one arm free she snaked it up until she could use it to hit my chest gently. "I am the strongest Sekirei. I will triumph over all the others in the Plan, and even if your enemies come for you, I will simply defeat them as well."
"You don't know what my enemies are like, Tsukiumi," I told her softly, my eyes drifting to the side as I did so. When the fist she had resting against my chest opened and she pinched me hard, I yelped and glanced back at her, surprised. Despite our closeness, and the blush still on her face, Tsukiumi's expression was stern.
"It doesn't matter what they're like," she declared hotly. "All you need to know is that I will help you defeat them! That much is certain!"
It felt pointless to try and argue with her. She really didn't know, and even if I could convince her of the strength of the Mage's Association without revealing their actual powers, I had my doubts she would even care. Confidence was not something my gorgeous Tsukiumi was lacking in.
"We'll see," I finally told her, and she frowned at my vague answer but appeared to accept that that was all she was going to get from me. With her return to her more temperamental nature, I thought that she would straighten up soon, but instead she simply buried her face in my chest once more. "Tsukiumi," I began, my voice curious, but trailed off as the hand on my chest trailed up to my shoulder.
"Shirou," she started again. "Was your concern over your enemies the reason that you won't treat me as your wife?" Gently but firmly, her hand traced down my arm, pushing it away from where it was around her shoulders until she held my hand in hers. "You haven't even touched me yet." Slowly, she brought my hand down, to her front, and then gently pressed it against her breast.
"Please," she said, looking up at me with serious eyes as she pressed against me. "I want you to hold me."
The air of my room felt warm, too warm. I could feel Tsukiumi's body pressed against mine, her own heat just adding to the suddenly stifling room. She felt soft all over, but nowhere on the rest of her body was that softness more evident than in the part my hand now cupped. Through the thin fabric of her tunic, I could feel the beating of her heart, growing ever faster at the contact she had initiated. Through my own shirt, I could just feel the touch of her breath as its rate increased, a soft panting that I realized I too was imitating.
A clinical part of me noted that Tsukiumi was seducing me. That same part pointed out that I shouldn't be surprised, considering that I had already taken the first step with Akitsu. It noted the difference between then and now, things like how it had been me who had been the initiator with the quiet snow woman, and how this time the role of aggressor was reversed. It also noted that for all her silence, Akitsu was still in the room right now, a fact that Tsukiumi might not have realized herself given how sensitive the water user seemed about some of the things she had brought up in the course of the conversation.
That clinical side of me was far overshadowed by the fact that the girl in my arms was so beautiful, soft, and willing. I might have more self control then most, but with Tsukiumi's warm breast against my rough palm, her body pressed to mine, and the sound of her aroused breathing in my ear, it seemed that whatever self control I might have had just wasn't enough.
Tsukiumi gasped when my hand closed lightly against her chest, a noise I instinctively noted from long practice of reading my partners. Her breath hitched as the arm I had around her shoulder trailed low, my other palm settling in the small of her back and pressing her tighter against me. Somehow, I remembered not to claim her lips, as the wing reaction would no doubt draw unwanted attention and perhaps an ill timed interruption, but when I compromised by bending over and placing my lips on the bare flesh of her shoulder near the lacey collar she wore the water user made a noise not unlike a kitten.
I had little doubt that Tsukiumi was making her own observations, as she returned my attention. I nearly moaned myself when her hips pressed against mine, the squeak she emitted when she discovered the proof of my attraction to her blending in my ears with the clink of chain coming from the corner as Akitsu shifted, and the low moan that came from the window where Kazehana was watching…
Wait. Kazehana was watching….?
"What the hell do you think you're doing!" I snapped, pushing away from Tsukiumi suddenly, the flush on my face now some strange conglomerate of arousal, embarrassment, and anger. The water user mewed again, blinking up at me in surprise, her face heated with her own lust, before she seemed to realize that I wasn't talking about her. Still blinking in confusion, Tsukiumi turned to follow my glare, only to let loose a small shriek of surprise as she realized that not only was Akitsu still in the room, but that at some point the purple clad wind user had perched herself on the windowsill.
Akitsu was flushed herself, and though she had remained kneeling perfectly still as was her custom there was no doubt that she had been watching everything carefully. Kazehana on the other hand was watching just as eagerly, but was sitting much less still. My flush turned even more embarrassed as I realized just where her hands were and just what she had been doing only moments ago, and was still doing even as I gaped at her.
I knew that reactions caused a certain degree of arousal, and that I tended to cause extreme reactions in Sekirei at times, but I had certainly never thought for a moment that I might one day inspire an unwinged Sekirei to openly masturbate while watching me and a member of my flock engage in foreplay.
My life really did have more in common with an eroge then it did the reality others lived in.
I think it was only the sheer ridiculousness of the situation which prevented me from tracing a sword and killing someone in embarrassment. I wasn't certain if that someone would be Kazehana or myself, but at least the outrageousness of the scene kept SOMEONE from dying, that much I was certain of.
"Y-you," Tsukiumi stuttered, and it appeared she was experiencing a very similar reaction as I did at the discovery of our voyeur. Kazehana, whose hands were still engaged in their indecent activity, blinked, her lidded eyes opening fully and confusion appearing on her face as though she too was only now just realizing what she had been doing.
"Huh?" the wind user grunted, looking down at her body as though she needed visual confirmation as to just what her senses told her she was in the middle of. "How did…?" she gasped, her own voice a mixture of arousal and confusion. Her eyes snapped up to lock on mine, a panicked look on her face. "I mean, when did I…?"
Whatever it was the wind user was about to say, she was cut off as Tsukiumi pointed a finger at her. A streamlet of water formed around her, whipping about myself as well due to our proximity, and Tsukiumi displayed that while I might be unsure just who to attack, the water user had her target firmly in mind.
"Water Celebration!" she shrieked, the stream launching at Kazehana with the force of a water hose. I wasn't certain if it was due to her still being distracted by her own interrupted activities or if Tsukiumi's rage had managed to increase the speed of her attack, but Kazehana barely had time to blink before she was struck head on by the fast moving water. With a yelp, the wind user was blasted clear out of the window she had apparently entered through, and a similarly startled shout came from the courtyard where she landed in the middle of Musubi and Miya's ongoing spar.
"The nerve of that woman," Tsukiumi growled, a fist coming up to shake indignantly in the air as the water user prepared to go after the wind user to continue her chastisement. Hurriedly, I caught one of her hands, the force she was storming off with enough to nearly pull me from my feet. "Shirou, let me go right now so I can…" she began, whirling to glare at me for daring to stop her, another streamer of water starting to form.
"Miya's going to be mad enough as it is, but if she sees you looking like that she's going to explode," I told her frantically, my mind a whirl with the implications of what had just occurred.
"Looking like what?" Tsukiumi shrieked, before glancing down at herself to see just what I was talking about. When she discovered that at some point during our heated exchange I had brushed her tunic down to expose the breast I had been touching, she yelped, and frantically crossed her arm over her chest. As though suddenly remembering just what we had been doing before the interruption, her expression changed once more from rage to embarrassment. "Don't' look!" She shrieked, shooting the streamer of water at me as she turned away quickly to conceal herself. The familiar cracking of ice forming announced that Akitsu was still diligently keeping watch over my safety.
Shifting awkwardly, trying to make it so that my pants were a little less uncomfortable, I sighed as Tsukiumi began fixing her clothing. "Miya is going to kill us all," I muttered, swallowing dryly as I did so. I could hear the landlady already lecturing Kazehana as she took in the wind user's no doubt disheveled state. I had little doubt that she would quickly discover that not only had a resident used violence against another resident, but Tsukiumi and I had nearly violated the 'No Lewd Acts' clause as well.
"No she won't," Tsukiumi swore, stomping her foot. "Not when I was so close!" Still caught up in the throes of the gamut of emotions she had just gone through, the water user wheeled on me, pointing her finger imperiously. "It is Monday, which means it's my turn! Tonight, you are going to take me out to that shack of yours, and you are going to ravage me when there's no one around to interrupt!"
"Okay, okay," I immediately surrendered, holding my arms up nervously as I kept my eye on the finger aimed at me. I found myself reliving certain unpleasant memories of what Rin could be like if something interrupted her happy time, and had no desire to see if a high powered water blast would compare to a gandr when it came to sexually frustrated female wrath. "Tonight, after dinner!"
"Ah," Akitsu began, pausing briefly. "I wanted to watch," she admitted, her flush increasing as she did so.
"What!" Tsukiumi turned to gawk at the snow woman, before flushing brightly herself as she did so. Her clothes began to whip around her as she glared at the other voyeur. "No you may not watch me and my husband consummating our marriage!" she shrieked, more streamers of water forming around her as she did so.
"Oh?" a new voice came from the door of our room, so innocent sounding that it instantly set my nerves on end. Holding a drawn sword, Miya had apparently gotten enough information out of Kazehana to know that she had other targets to gather before she could properly lecture everyone responsible. Despite the difference in size, she was holding Kazehana in front of her by the back of the wind user's purple dress much like a cat would carry a kitten. "What's this about consummation?"
"Landlady," Tsukiumi gulped, cringing slightly as she realized that our time was up. "I mean, that is," the water user tried to find some excuse but came up short. With a gulp, her expression quickly came to mirror that of Kazehana: the face of those who know that there would be no escape, no rescue.
"Emiya-kun," Miya began, her tone pleasant. "Is there something you'd like to add as well, before I begin?" For all that she was apparently giving me a chance to try and talk my way out of what we all knew was coming next, the air around her was already beginning to darken.
"Please don't kill us?" I tried, a nervous smile forming on my lips as I attempted to diffuse the situation through humor.
From the way the darkness started to increase its gathering rate, I think I might have done better without the flippancy.
*Scene Break*
"My god," I whispered, feeling like a shell shocked veteran just back from the bloodiest war in the history of humanity. "I think I finally understand why it is Uzume hates the bleeding eyes so much."
"Y-yeah," Kazehana agreed, her face pale.
"I mean, there was so much blood, and then at the end…" I trailed off, shuddering as my mind refused to properly recall just what it was that Miya had shown us at the very last. Normally I would be against willful amnesia, seeing as not knowing something is often the difference between life and death, but this…
No, don't think about it. Think about something happier. Like being crucified, or disemboweled. Just keep thinking happy thoughts.
"Ashikabi-kun, promise me you'll never do that yourself," Kazehana asked of me, her voice an orchestra of misery.
"If I ever achieve a level of skill with my mask to be able to think about accomplishing something that horrific, then I will have no other choice but to become a hermit living in the mountains so as to ensure I never expose another to such a sight," I swore, meaning every word of it. I knew that Miya would be upset, seeing just how many rules of Izumo House had been broken in a period of a few minutes, but I had no idea she truly felt that strongly about the rugulations. I think the only thing which could have offended her more is if I had somehow managed to get a pet at the same time. And then that pet had destroyed her husband's shrine.
"Thank you, Ashikabi-kun," the relief in Kazehana's voice was obvious. "Thank you."
It was a testament to just how thorough Miya's scolding had been that it was only at that moment that I realized just who I was talking too. Managing to recover a bit of my situational awareness, I glanced over at my fellow commiserater.
"Kazehana," I began, not sure how to broach the next topic.
"Yes, Ashikabi-kun?" the wind user responded, still sounding a little out of it.
"Why are you holding my arm?" I wasn't quite certain how we had gotten where we were, but apparently the two of us plus Akitsu were sitting on the veranda in the usual spot I generally chose when I wanted to do a little garden watching. Akitsu was still in her usual place on my left, but judging from the unfocused look in her eyes the snow woman was also still feeling a little discombobulated from the landlady's lecture. Kazehana was on my right, though unlike the perfectly still Akitsu it appears as though the wind user was unconsciously snuggling against me, my arm firmly wrapped in hers and my elbow deeply burrowed into her cleavage. With the unusual lacing that marked the front of her one piece I could feel the warmth and softness of her assets as their bare flesh was pressed against my sleeve.
"Ah?" the wind user grunted, sounding confused. Looking downwards, the dark haired Sekirei seemed to realize just what she was doing and jerked as though she had been shocked. "Ah? Ah-hahaha?" she laughed nervously, hastily unwrapping herself from around me and skittering away. "Um, sorry," she began, waving her hands in front of her anxiously as her eyes darted from side to side. "You see, the thing is…"
I interrupted her, already knowing what was going on. "You're reacting, aren't you?" I stated with a sigh, not even having to guess.
Her cheeks flushing, Kazehana froze, and then one hand came up to the back of her head as she tittered nervously. "Reacting? Now why would I be doing something like that?" she waved the other one in front of her as though to brush away my accusation as being unfounded.
"Kazehana," I began gently. "Every one of my Sekirei has reacted before as well. I know enough to know the symptoms. I could tell even when Karasuba was reacting, and she was a lot more subtle than you're being."
"Karasuba?" Kazehana paused at the name of her fellow former Disciplinary Squad member. "Wait, Karasuba reacted to you too?" It looked like she had no idea that the number zero four and I had even met, much less had such an event occur. "Where is she then? Did you give her wings as well?"
"No," I told her, glancing out to the garden as I did so. The budding trees and blooming flowers were a good thing to focus on, something to drag my mind away from the horrors Miya had shown me earlier. "I gave her the chance, but she decided that being winged by me would interfere with her own plans so she found another."
"Really?" Kazehana quipped, sounding surprised. From the corner of my eye I could make out her relaxing slightly. "Even though you could have winged her you let her go?"
"She didn't want me as her Ashikabi, and I refuse to force a Sekirei to bond," I explained, and at my words the wind user relaxed even more.
"Well, that's a relief," she murmured, settling backwards a bit. "Though I don't know why I keep acting like this," she continued, a note of complaint entering her voice. "I'm not usually like this, Ashikabi-kun."
"Its fine," I assured her, giving her a glance. In the last few days I hadn't had much to do with Kazehana, though the few times we had run into each other had been memorable. Normally, the first thing she'd do when coming face to face with me would be to hurriedly make an excuse to get out of the room. Considering the things she had learned about me the other night that could be a sign that she was disgusted by my very presence, but the other option that she knew she was reacting to me and didn't want me to find out was just as likely in her case. "You wouldn't know this, being new and all, but I have a history of causing strange reactions in Sekirei."
"Strange?" Kazehana repeated, curiosity entering her voice. Clasping her hands in front of her, she cocked her head to the side, peering at me casually. "What do you mean?"
"Well, when Homura reacted he nearly caused himself to self-immolate," I leaned back myself, thinking back on the numerous occasions where I had found myself responsible for causing the species to do something unusual. "Musubi had to be physically restrained at first. Matsu charged across half of Izumo before declaring that she wanted my babies. Tsukiumi actually fell over the first time she saw me too."
"Huh," the wind user grunted again, amusement entering her voice. "Well, I'm glad it's not just me then. I said it before, but I'm really not usually like this." With a scowl, she brushed one of her long black locks back from her face. "I might enjoy a good drink, and I do so like teasing every once in a while, but really, I'm not as easy a woman as I've been acting."
I glanced over to see how sincere the wind user was being and was granted the sight of her scowling down at herself. It looked like she really was honestly offended at the way she had been behaving lately, and I grimaced in response. "It's okay," I assured her. "I know, it's my fault. At least you're not in physical danger like Homura was."
"Well, I'm glad he's alright now," the wind user mused, rubbing her chin as she did so. "I've had a few drinks with him before, and it would be horrible to lose a good drinking buddy." With a pause, the wind user gave me a subtle once over, still rubbing her chin. "So, Ashikabi-kun," she began, a teasing tone entering her voice. "What do you think about me reacting to you?" With a leer she leaned forward, one hand coming up under her chest to help accentuate them. "Thinking about how good I'd look in your harem?"
When confronted with the bountiful armful in front of me, I couldn't help but remember just what I had been doing earlier with Tsukiumi, and just what the wind user had been doing in response. With a flush, I turned my attention quickly back to the garden. Clearing my throat, my mind raced as I tried to think up an answer to the wind user's teasing question.
"W-well," I began, stuttering a bit before getting myself back in control. "I think it's pretty unusual actually."
"Oh?" still leering, Kazehana leaned in even further. "But aren't you mister 'I can tell when a Sekirei is reacting'? Shouldn't someone as experienced as you are be used to it?"
"That's not what I meant," I said quickly, leaning back a bit to keep the wind user from getting too close. "I mean, it's unusual the way you don't seem to do anything in response to it."
"I remember doing a few things in response to it already," she purred, her tone sultry. I swallowed, also remembering and trying very hard not to let the memories spark an ill timed reaction. When she said that she enjoyed teasing earlier, I had a strong feeling that this was what she meant.
"That's not what I meant either," I hastily repeated, trying not to notice how high pitched my voice was. I cleared my throat again, swallowing afterwards, and when I continued my voice was more composed. "I meant that usually when a Sekirei reacts they try and get their future Ashikabi to wing them. Even with Karasuba, right after she turned me down she went and got another Ashikabi immediately. But for you, even though you're reacting and you know it's me, you're not doing anything about it."
"Ahh," Kazehana murmured, her voice a sigh. Leaning back away from me, her expression changed from teasing to understanding. "Well, Ashikabi-kun," she began, her voice melancholic now. "That's because I have no interest in the Sekirei Plan."
"What do you mean?" I asked, turning to give her my full attention. This was the first time I had ever heard the wind user speak so seriously. Normally she seemed perfectly content to spend her time happily drinking and teasing others around her or squealing in excitement over some love story or another. Most of the time it was a bit hard for me to equate the carefree woman I was witnessing to the image I had built up of her in my head, the one based around her exploits back when she was a member of the Disciplinary Squad.
"Once, a long time ago, there was someone I liked," Kazehana admitted, absently twirling a lock of her hair in a finger as she spoke in a nostalgic tone. "But he turned me down. I decided that a Sekirei Plan without the one I loved was a Sekirei Plan I had no interest in."
Casually, she brought her legs up until she could tuck them underneath her body, a feminine movement which showed off her long legs. For the first time, I noticed the anklet she wore, a thin piece of purple ribbon with a bell attached to it. I realized that despite having known her for about a week, and having seen her moving quite energetically in the past, I had never once actually heard a chime from her. As though realizing where my gaze was, she gave me a small smirk before reaching out to tap the bell, causing it to ring and proving that it was in fact functional and not just ornamental.
I wasn't certain how she was keeping it from chiming, whether it was through grace or a minor application of her power, but it did send a little chill down my spine. Now that was something I might expect from one of the first five.
"Ne, Ashikabi-kun," Kazehana continued, her voice soft as she leaned backwards, once more striking a pose, arms above her head with her chest proudly displayed and the hem of her skirt rising daringly on her thigh. "Do you want me?"
For a moment I wasn't certain whether she was referring to me wanting her physically or if she was asking if I wanted her to be my Sekirei. All I could think at that second was just how alluring the sight in front of me really was. Ever since I became involved with the Sekirei race, I had become no stranger to the beautiful women, but even compared to the well formed members of my flock, Kazehana was another animal entirely. Akitsu had an air of subservience to her, a hesitancy which gave her a mysterious allure, Musubi brought a charming innocence to the table, Tsukiumi had an elegant and strong beauty to her, and Matsu had a childish and playful demeanor. Kazehana on the other hand was a creature of almost pure sexuality.
The ripeness of her body, combined with her own mental maturity, and the air of experience, all combined and when the wind user asked me so bluntly if I wanted her or not, I could do nothing but swallow heavily, my tongue to thick to speak, and turn away to look at the yard, trying my best not to blush.
"Ohoho," the temptress giggled, accurately interpreting my actions as an affirmative to her statement. "And yet even after the scene from earlier you're still so shy!"
"It's no fair, teasing the easily embarrassed Ashikabi," I muttered, feeling a bit childish. "I'm a fighter, not a lover. I should be on a battlefield, not in a bedroom."
"That's not what I hear," she chanted in a singsong voice. With a quick move she leaned in to whisper in my ear, "From what Sexy-Underwear-chan over there says, you do really good in the bedroom!"
On my left Akitsu, or as I guess Kazehana had decided on nick naming her, Sexy-Underwear-chan seemed to come back enough from her harrowing experience at the hands of Miya to flush slightly, the smile on her face widening a bit.
"If you're not careful," I blurted out quickly, trying to get a little distance between me and my tormentor, "Miya's gonna come back and finish the job."
"Good point," Kazehana muttered, though she was still smiling from her successful attempt at flustering me. "Well, I think it's about time for me to start drinking," she confessed, shifting slightly so she could regain her footing. "I'll talk to you later, Lover-kun!"
And now I had a nickname as well. I really hoped she didn't use it around any of my flock, especially Tsukiumi, or there would be hell to pay later.
Still, there was one more thing I had to say.
"Kazehana," I said, and the wind user stopped to glance back at me as she resumed her apparent quest to consume all the alcohol in the world. "I'll make the same offer to you that I made to all the Sekirei that have reacted to me. I won't turn down a Sekirei if they ask me to wing them, just like I won't force one if that's not what they want."
"Hmhm," the wind user give a sound that was part hum and part giggle. "Well then, you'll just have to show me that you're man enough for me first," she put a hand on her hip, leaning forward to wink at me provocatively. "So far, you're doing a pretty good job of it too! Keep it up, and I'll have to show you how adults spend their time!"
With one last look over her shoulder, she turned and continued down the hallway, swinging her hips as she did so. Try as I might, I couldn't quite stop myself from following her movements as she walked away.
*Scene Break*
"My, my," Miya sighed, a pair of chopsticks resting on her lips as she sighed. "It seems that we might have to put one of these tables in storage soon."
"Mmm," Uzume hummed, her mouth full as she chewed on her own bite of food. The ponytailed Sekirei looked like she was going to add something, but paused, keeping a careful eye on the landlady as she did so. Apparently reaching some kind of decision the brunette took a moment to carefully chew her mouthful and swallow before speaking up. "Yeah," she added, now that she was no longer in danger of violating any kind of rule which might bring the wrath of Miya down upon her. "It has been kinda quiet these last few days, ain't it?"
It didn't surprise me that she was being so careful in minding her manners at the moment. It had only been a few hours since the incident in my room which involved the violation of two of Izumo House's big rules. I think one of the reasons that Uzume had actually decided to join the rest of the house for dinner was actually that she was curious about just how severe the already legendary lecture actually had been.
If she wanted proof of the true horror that the incident had brought into the world, she only had to take a look at Tsukiumi. I wasn't certain if it was my own ability to manifest a similar mask, or if perhaps it was some aspect of my higher than average magecraft resistance, or even if it was just a matter of me being a little more immune to horror than most due to my own experiences in battle, but it had only taken me a half hour or so to shake off the monstrosity that Miya had called forth into the world. Perhaps it was due to her own experience as well, both with horror and with Miya's mask, though it could just have been the alcohol she had consumed afterwards acting as an artificial fortifier, but Kazehana had also managed to return to a normal state for her. Even Akitsu had managed to shrug off the lingering affects eventually, perhaps an indication of my earlier hypothesis about post orgasmic satisfaction somehow providing resistance against horrors from beyond human ken.
Tsukiumi on the other hand didn't seem to have any of the potential factors which might have one day managed to allow her a swift recovery from overexposure to malice incarnate. Though the water user had recovered enough to behave in a semi-normal fashion, a small twitch had formed beneath her left eye, and every few minutes she would start, glancing desperately over her shoulder as though to affirm that there was nothing sneaking up on her.
I honestly think the only thing that managed to keep Tsukiumi conscious and willing to exist in the same room as the serenely smiling landlady was the knowledge of what would happen in a few hours if she just managed to retain her hold on her sanity. From the way the water user kept shuddering, and then looking at me as though my presence was granting her some kind of strength to help her endure it seemed only my promise of resuming what we had begun earlier was enough to keep her resolve strong.
I wasn't sure how much of the interplay between Tsukiumi and I the bemused Uzume managed to interpret correctly, but it seemed the brunette was amused by it nonetheless. At least, she was until she found herself looking over at me involuntarily. Every time the ponytailed Sekirei did so, her growing smile would dim, and should quickly look away, her expression tinged by worry.
Just as with many of the others, this was a recently developed habit. Uzume had known for a while, ever since the day we had struck our tentative truce not to bring conflict into Izumo House, that the day would come when we would find ourselves on the other end of the battle field. Uzume had known that I was preparing for the inevitable conflict, gathering information on other Ashikabi and Sekirei in general.
Now though, the knowledge of just what I was planning to do with that information had been painstakingly explained to her. She had suspected before, spurred on by the blood she had seen on my jeans, that I was willing to take measures that many would frown on. Before, that had been a mark of a kindred spirit, a sign that I was one who understood her own unsavory actions and could commiserate with her. After the events of three days ago, with the true extent of my willingness to sink myself into darkness and the depths I would fall, now there was no more camaraderie there.
Now, I was someone who was willing to hunt down her own Ashikabi if the need grew urgent enough. Now, with a flock numbering over a half dozen, and combat skills of my own fit enough to count as a combat element myself and the willingness to kill where others would hesitate, I was a genuine threat regardless of the tenuous truce that we might have had once before.
Uzume was no longer comfortable in my presence, and it showed.
I tried not to let the change in dynamics between the only Sekirei of Izumo House to have another Ashikabi affect me as I unloaded a fresh hot pot onto the table. I could only hope that eventually, with time, the rift between Uzume and I would fade. I knew that eventually there was the chance that we might end up true enemies. Despite that, I held out hope that it wouldn't end that way. There had been a time when Rin and I had been in the same position after all: enemy Masters who would inevitably face each other to the death. In the end though, events had changed enough during the Grail War that the two of us ended up fighting besides each other. Hell, by the end of the Grail War, we had been lovers. Not that I was hoping for a similar fate to occur between Uzume and I. God knows I had enough potential lovers as it was.
But I could still hope that eventually something would come up which would allow things to change, that Uzume and I would be able to one day be friends, watching quietly as the more innocent members of my flock chattered and laughed, both of us knowing that there was a darkness that the others would never truly understand, and both of us content in the knowledge that our bearing that darkness would mean that the others wouldn't have to.
"It's not like a little peace and quiet is a bad thing," Homura responded with his own opinion to Uzume's comment about the lack of excitement in Izumo House. The fire user reached out for the ladle to the hot pot, before freezing, a wince crossing his features as his free hand came up to clutch his chest instinctively. It only lasted for a moment before the former host forced himself to resume his earlier motion, but I noticed it nonetheless as I picked up the empty pot that I had just replaced.
And there was the final member of Izumo House, and his own reaction to the revelations. Besides Matsu's own self imposed exile, I found his to be the most worrying, for a number of reasons.
Just like Miya, Musubi, and Akitsu, for the most part his initial response to my murderous plans had very little in the way of judgment in it. If anything, he seemed to respond very favorably to my idea of destroying MBI in order to relieve the rest of the Sekirei from the onus of battle. Well, favorable to the idea of eliminating the President of MBI anyway. In the three days since Akitsu's party degenerated into shouted arguments he had actually approached me four times about the potential of simply killing the Minaka. I wasn't certain what the exact situation was, but I was fairly certain that there was some serious bad blood between the former host and the Director of the Sekirei Plan.
What truly worried me about Homura in the last few days had more to do with the fact that he couldn't be in my presence for longer than a few minutes before he eventually began clutching his chest in pain. I recognized those symptoms, just like the fire user no doubt did. I didn't know whether the events of a few days ago had some way aggravated his condition, or if it was just the next step in the process he was undergoing. Either way, it didn't speak well for Izumo House having a continued male population of more than myself, especially with even the loss of Shiina's own contribution to that front.
"Moo," Musubi chimed in, pouting as she did so. "I miss Yukari-chan though," the shrine girl admitted, sounding a little sad. "She was so bright and fun!"
"And I personally have never felt safer now that I know she's gone," Tsukiumi muttered as apparently the constant trauma of having been my little sister's number one molestation target managed to overcome the fresher trauma of Miya's earlier displeasure. I suppressed a smile, shaking my head slightly. I think the number one reason that Yukari had targeted the water user was the fact that Tsukiumi was always the one that responded the most ardently.
I was turning away from the table, taking the old empty pot back to the kitchen before I returned to my seat for my own second helping, when the scent of power struck my nose. Unnoticed by the rest of the room in general, I froze.
"Well, it seems that even without someone like that you still managed to violate the rules of Izumo House," Miya pointed out, one hand innocently framing her face as she reminded Tsukiumi of the earlier lecture.
The scent of power grew, and with it came a new scent: intent. My mind raced. What was going on? Was it another Sekirei? But the normal smell of honey, the trace of power I had come to attribute to Sekirei in general, was missing. A magus?
"Kuu-chan wishes Shii-chan was still here," Kusano added her own opinion, pouting from her spot at the table. The small blonde was upset over the fact that despite her fierce negotiations, even going so far as to sacrifice her right to have a day to sleep beside me in favor of always being able to sit between myself and her other brother, the spot on her other side was devoid of her Shii-chan.
But that didn't matter, because even as she spoke my wards were going off. What the hell was going on here? The wards were working, and I could feel the ill intent of the encroaching power, but why was it still getting nearer? If it was a magus, why hadn't they torn down the wards and activated my defenses? I should be trying to make excuses to explain my hasty departure as the geas forced me to battle, not standing here frozen, the heavy weight of the empty pot in my hand a cold reminder of just where I was.
"No," I whispered, my voice hoarse as I realized what was about to happen. "No, no, no." This couldn't be. I worked so hard, put so much effort into concealing the truth. Not now, not like this.
"Emiya-kun?" Miya began, the first to realize that something was wrong.
The reason I wasn't being dragged away to battle was because whoever was coming had completely disregarded my wards. They had entered, knowing full well that I would be able to feel their intent, and even now they were closing in, the bitter smell of smoke acrid and choking in my metaphorical nostrils.
The empty pot tumbled from my hands as I threw myself across the room, tumbling over the table as the gathered Sekirei started to shout in surprise over my unexpected actions. The clatter of silverware met my ears, hot food and sauce splashing against me and my clothes, all things I ignored as I managed somehow to place myself between the other residents of Izumo House and the thin wall which separated them from the courtyard.
Whoever the magus was, they weren't going to let me lure them away to deal with them out of the eyes of the public and in a prepared location. They were going to strike here and now, regardless that it meant I would have the few moments warning that I had.
Raising one hand, I had only a moment to set myself to the place deep within, the hammer of the revolver that signified my magecraft cocking and being released with the speed of some gunslinger of old.
"Rho Aias!" I shouted, and in front of me seven petals of iridescent light bloom. A hyacinth of purple and gold and blue shimmered into existence, shouts of surprise coming from behind me as it did so.
And then the walls of Izumo House exploded, flames so hot they were nearly white impacting against my Noble Phantasm, the shield wielded by Ajax on the fields of Troy, the only shield to ever deflect a javelin thrown by the great hero Hector. I could feel the heat of the strike roll around the edges of Rho Aias, the pure viciousness of the blast enough for a fraction of its power to envelope even the mystic protection I had called forth to protect the other residents of Izumo.
I had closed one eye before hand, a habit that I had long ago developed when preparing to do battle against those who could call forth blinding attacks. I was glad I had as the sheer brightness of the flames caused spots to develop in my open eye. When I opened the one I had shut to protect my vision I managed to make out a silhouette as the enemy magus raced forward through a similarly decimated fence which marked the limits of the Izumo courtyard.
And then, there was no more time for reflection.
As the magus cleared the burnt portion of the fence, I dropped Rho Aias. It would be useless to me now. While the Noble Phantasm might be strongest I knew when it came to defense, it was simply too impractical except for blocking massive assaults like the one I had just stopped. It left me immobile and it only defended a set portion of space in front of me like the shield it was. Moreover, it was a reflection of my own life as well: if the shield were to be tarnished, so to would my body. Better instead to take my fight to the enemy. Even as the walls that had once separated the dining room from the courtyard smoldered I had already traced a dozen blades, nameless masses of steel with no legend to them.
"Trace on," I shouted, and above my shoulders and at my sides the blades made themselves known, catching the light only for a moment before the elements of speed and velocity I had added to their nature made themselves known and they launched themselves, streaks of silver in the dim crescent moonlight. I forced myself after them, od flooding my limbs as I reinforced myself to levels that no human could hope to match normally.
I had expected the magus, a female I noted clinically, to either be impaled then and there or dodge to her sides in the face of the sudden return attack. I was very surprised when rather than make any kind of evasive action the attacking mage instead simply punched the first blade to meet her own headlong rush.
I was even more surprised when the conjured sword shattered at her touch.
My eyes widened, the rush of adrenaline coursing through me giving me the chance to make out each move of her arms as the attacking magus continued her attack. The first blade was met with a fist head on, the black leather gloves on her hands shining at the knuckles with mystic light as her knuckles impacted with steel, and then the other hand came up to palm my second sword, and the first hand came back with a backhand to the third. The nine other blades I had launched were ignored, originally sent in a wide arc in order to catch any dodging actions by the enemy magus and drive her back. Instead, I found myself closing in for a head on collision with my foe rather than chasing after her mid retreat.
Well, I could work with that. Even as my mind raced, trying to figure out what the hell was going on and just who this enemy was, my hands closed on hilts that weren't there moments ago. My two blades, my trusted companions, my closest friends: Bakuya and Kanshou.
If I hadn't just witnessed this strange magus brush off two pounds of steel launched at the speed of a fastball three times in a row, I would have been surprised when the black sword in my left hand was intercepted in the same way. In any other circumstance if a blade of the caliber of Kanshou were to come across a soft leather glove like the one encompassing the enemy magus' knuckles I would expect an arm to be lost. Instead, I felt a jolt through my own limb as somehow, impossibly, the sword in my off hand was not only stopped but repulsed. After her previous defense, I was at least prepared enough for the feeling and instead focused on driving Bakuya forward, towards the diaphragm of my enemy.
I had expected this attack to be met with my enemies off hand. Instead, I had a moment for my eyes to widen in shock as the enemy magus caught my white blade somehow between her elbow and her knee, standing in some kind of strange crane stance from a martial arts I had no way of recognizing off the top of my head. And then I had only a moment to try and bring Kanshou back up to protect my chest as the hand which had destroyed a blade and blocked two more came down and struck me straight in my solar plexus.
The blow was like a sledgehammer. I haven't been hit this hard since I was put through a truck during my second Apostle hunt. The only other experience I could compare to this level of violence was something on par with a Servant during the Grail War.
Clearly, this wasn't a normal magus I was dealing with.
I forced myself to take deep breaths, making my body through sheer force of will ignore the pain that was radiating from my very center. Even as I tumbled head over heel, my arms held carefully to the side with my blades pointed away to keep them from injuring me, I kept my gaze on the magus who had invaded the peace of my home. It was a maneuver which resembled some kind of twisted spotting exercise used by dancers to keep themselves from getting dizzy while doing their endless spinning. Considering just how many times Saber had sent me flying in much the same way during our spars, it was a technique I was actually surprisingly good at.
It was thanks to that technique that I could make out what happened next.
Even as I tumbled across the courtyard, I made out the blast of water which arched from the inside of Izumo House, a lance of blue which was accompanied by a shout of, "How dare you attack my husband!" The attack was met with silence as the magus simply arched backwards, avoiding the first strike through agility alone. My eyes, reinforced and focused made out the flare of light on the enemy magus' pants, four small stars at the ankles and knees of both legs. Then the magus was moving, one hand coming up to trace a pattern in the air, light emanating from the fingers as though the space in front of them was some kind of touch screen on a doohickey like the one Matsu had given me.
My eyes made out the shape of the gesture, and then they widened in shock. I knew those shapes. The glow at the knuckles, at the joints of the legs, I could identify them.
Whoever this magus was, they were using Runes.
Even as Tsukiumi's water based attack closed in, a concussive blast erupted in the empty air, countering the strike. Still moving, the enemy magus darted towards me, ignoring her other aggressor. Fingers outstretched, my attacker started to trace a new shape in the air, and instinctively I brought Kanshou and Bakuya up, forming an 'X' in front of my body as I did so.
Something struck me, harder than even the enemy magus' fist had no more than a few seconds ago. Lifting me up, the force of the blow pushed me airborne, and I had a moment of annoyance at being tossed around like some kind of doll before my back found yet another fence surrounding Izumo House. Even against my reinforced body, I could feel my back bruise as I was launched through the wooden obstacle and into the empty lot next door that held my workshop.
Splinters stuck into me and sawdust erupted as I once more found myself fighting dizziness as I did all I could to keep my enemy in my sights even as I was sent head over heels through the air.
"Shirou!" Homura's voice cut through the air, panic clear in it even in my discombobulated state. "Fire Snake!" At the random words, a new lance of flame erupted, the elemental attack every bit as hot as the one the enemy magus had used to open the engagement.
This time, the enemy magus spoke though I didn't recognize what it was she was saying. "Algiz! Laguz! Uruz!" My mind raced as countless hours of research tried to find the meaning of her words as her fingers inscribed more glowing arcs of light into the night. Whatever it was she had cast, the fire of my only male Sekirei found itself halted as someone besides Tsukiumi called water into existence. It gathered at a fraction of the speed that my blonde Sekirei could manage, but it was enough. Even as the bar of fire cut through the conjured disc of water, the flame had been delayed enough for the magus to dodge past it, and the rest of the attack slipped past her.
However well she had managed to evade the flame though, when she turned her attention back to me, it was to find that I had recovered my footing, and was standing strong with a half dozen blades already forming behind me.
"Trace bullet," I said, the words an oath in my mouth, "Launch."
The first time I had thrown my wall of steel at my aggressor I had done so in a spread formation, designed to force her to maneuver in order to buy me time. This time, each blade was projected individually, a moment's thought all it took for me to direct them. Once more glares of light emerged from the joints of my opponent; knees, ankles, elbows, and even her wrists all shown as she brought her hands down to deflect my attacks. This time, prepared, I could manage to make out some of the runes that she had apparently inscribed previously, whether on herself or on her clothes I couldn't quite tell. I could make out 'raido', journey, 'algiz', defender, and 'nauthiz', need, along with a few other more obscure ones that I couldn't identify immediately but committed to memory nonetheless.
Whatever they were, they were apparently pretty damn effective. Moving as fast as I could under the best that I could manage with Reinforcement, the enemy magus blurred, her arms swinging as she deflected the first, then the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, and my final sixth projected blade.
Despite her success, I could feel my own confidence regaining. Even if she had blocked my counter, it had required her to halt her previously relentless charge. Now no longer being thrown through the air like I had, I was finally able to collect my thoughts, the implications of the battle so far racing through my mind as I started planning the next move. Fast, strong, and dangerous, this was no magus like Archibald. This wasn't someone who obeyed the rules of a duel, or stopped to talk with her enemy to explain her mysteries.
This was a Magus Killer.
That was fine. So was I.
Even as I leaned forward, my blades in hand, a glimmer of purple alerted me to the fact that for all my readiness, I might very well not need to do anything else.
Blade drawn, her white blouse a streak in the moonlight, and her sword leaving a bar of silver afterimages in its wake, Miya entered the battle field.
"Violence in Izumo House," her voice echoed across the empty lot, a note of honest anger and chilling rage in it, "is prohibited." Like a vengeful angel descended from heaven or a guardian beast clawing its way out of hell she fell on the one who had dared to damage her home, and the enemy magus had only a moment to take in the sight of the alien landlady before Miya brought her sword down upon the interloper who had destroyed a significant portion of the house that was the legacy of her lost husband.
For a moment I almost considered praying for the poor damned soul. And then the damned soul's hand came up, opening an innocuous pouch strapped to her belt as she did so. From within it, a grey object appeared, like a sphere made of lead yet somehow capable of the buoyancy of a soap bubble.
My blood went cold, and I felt my heart skip a beat.
"Miya," I shouted, my voice shrill with panic. "Stop!"
Maybe it was the long term relationship that had been building between us that caused her to hesitate. Maybe it was the sheer panic in my voice. Whatever it was, the wrathful creature that was my landlady hesitated, her eyes darting towards me even as she brought her sword down on the interloper that had damaged her home, threatened her resident, and destroyed a good amount of her property's fence.
Whatever it was, it was that hesitation that probably saved her life.
The strange sphere had risen to the enemy magus's shoulder, hovering almost innocently, before suddenly changing in shape. Where once was nothing but a sphere of grey, a dagger appeared. The blade was far too small to be effective, and the hilt was round and bulbous, difficult to grasp. Despite that, its shape burnt itself into my eyes. I had never seen it before, but the gaping void within me, the center of my soul, the reason for my flight from the Mage's Association, witnessed it and knew it.
"Fragarach!" the opposing magus declared her voice triumphant.
Fragarach, one of the few Noble Phantoms in existence that could be wielded by a human, myself excluded, the Sword of the Gorging War God. It was the ultimate form of counter attack, the perfect blend of defense and offense. When an attack is made upon the wielder of Fragarach the Noble Phantom not only counters the enemies strike, but nullifies it completely before striking down the one who had struck with the same force it had just stopped.
There were limitations to it, conditions that must be met before the true power of Fragarach could truly manifest. It could only be used defensively for one, requiring that the wielder must first be attacked before it could be activated. Moreover, the true power of the Sword of the Gorging War God could only be manifested if the enemy was using their true power as well. Only when it was used to stop the most powerful of blows was the counter strike an 'A' class attack capable of striking down just about any opponent. However, when being used to counter a blow without the attacker's full force behind it the counter strike was much reduced, being at best a 'D' rank attack. It still held the capability of countering the enemies strike, and so was still useful for defense, but against a Heroic Spirit or some other Mystic Creature with a strong defensive ability it would be much reduced in effectiveness.
Miya, for all her power, for all that she wasn't human, was still a creature of flesh and blood. Her body was composed of muscles and organs, and if enough damage was done to it, then for all her power she would still die like any other mortal creature. I had no way of knowing just how her power manifested normally, having never truly seen her in combat, but at least the distraction my shout had put into her meant that whatever strength her attack might have had it was not her true capabilities. Now, the only question was, 'Could Miya survive an unblockable 'D' class Noble Phantasm?'
For a split second Miya hung frozen in the air, her entire body supporting the blow which would have cut the enemy magus in half beneath her drawn steel, a look of shock sketched on her features as the strike which should have killed her enemy was stopped by some mystic force. Then the hovering dagger erupted with light, luminescent streamers like lightning shedding from its innocuous shape, before it disappeared, moving so fast it left behind only a brilliant after image, sketching a line like a laser disc from where it had been hovering over the female mage's shoulder to a line down Miya's body. The force of the counter swept up the frozen landlady and sent her careening backwards, just as I had been sent only moments ago. I could make out droplets of blood, the fluid black in the darkness as they scattered, and see as her clothing snapped at the wind as she received a blow which would have been identical to her own attack had it connected.
My heart froze in my chest. For a moment I could only track Miya's path in the air as she was tossed aside by the Noble Phantasm's counter. Miya, with her gentle teasing and stern discipline, Miya, who had taken me and my Sekirei into her home despite knowing that I was more than I seemed and who had never pried into my secrets, Miya, whom had become some strange cross of wise mentor, good friend, and overbearing older sister.
I was going to kill this bitch of an interloper for daring to harm the alien, the woman, whom I had come to think of as my friend and family.
I had regained my feet now. In my head more of my simple blades were being Traced; first six, then a dozen, then eighteen. Prana surged through my body, ready to Project my creations the moment I needed them and ruthlessly Reinforcing my body to a point where I was most likely in very real danger of destroying myself from the inside out in order to be able to match my enemies own considerable speed and strength.
So far she had been the one in control of the flow of battle, her sudden ambush keeping me too busy reeling to be able to take control. Now though, now I had seen enough of her style to be able to unravel her mysteries.
First, I needed to get her attention.
"Spirit and technique," I chanted, tightening my grip on Kanshou and Bakuya as I once more brought them into an 'X' shape in front of me, "flawless and firm."
Thrusting my arms to the side, I threw both of my Noble Phantasms, the blades discs of black and silver as they cut through the night, screaming. The enemy magus hesitated at my strange actions, her eyes following the brighter Bakuya for a moment before they widened and she leapt forwards as the two scissored in at where she had been standing only a moment ago. The two clanged, the noise of their collision loud as steel met steel, before they rebound, flying off in random directions.
Still tracking the movement, the mage barely managed to pull her eyes away in time to discover that I had closed the distance between us, two more identical copies of the still flying Noble Phantoms clutched once more in my hand. I brought Bakuya down, the blade cutting the air with an audible whistle, a strike that was once more blocked by the rune inscribed gloves.
"Our strength pierces the mountains," I grit out, and the enemy only had a second to realize that I still had another sword in hand, the black Kanshou blending in seamlessly with the darkness. Faster and stronger than any person had a right to be her other palm intercepted the surprise stab. "Our swords splits the rivers."
Despite the fact that I had forced my body to a level which surpassed what even the most devout of athletes could hope to achieve, the enemy magus managed to match my movements as I rained blow after blow on her. The endless combo that I had spent so much time perfecting was blocked and countered with each attack. It didn't surprise me. With the use of the Fragarach, I had a good idea of just who this enemy was, or at least who her clan was.
Fragarach was granted to the members of the Fraga clan for the services they had rendered to the divine during the Age of the Gods. Besides the ability to recreate and use the Sword of the Gorging War God they had been granted knowledge of runes far surpassing that of what most users of the thaumaturgical branch could use. The runes inscribed in various places on her body were no doubt legacies of that knowledge, some form of personal enhancement magecraft which was responsible for her unreal strength and speed.
The biggest question was just what was she doing here? Though the Fraga had one of the oldest bloodlines in existence in these days, the clan rarely had anything to do with the rest of the world, isolating themselves not only from the rest of humanity as so many magi did but even from the Mage's Association as well. It was rare for any of their number ever to depart the sea side village that they made their home in, but I had heard stories every once in a while of how some of the younger members of the clan would occasionally depart to the world at large. Though they typically shunned the Mage's Association in general, it wouldn't be that surprising if one of the members of the clan had decided to slake their thirst for adventure by becoming a Freelancer or Enforcer.
Whatever the story behind the Fraga I was engaging, it could wait. Despite my best effort to keep her engaged, the enemy magus seemed to realize the peril she was in at the last moment. Launching herself backwards, she disengaged from our combat just in time. The copies of Kanshou and Bakuya not in my hands sliced through the air where she had been standing only moments ago, the dark and bright discs cutting mere inches away from my face as they spun. I let them pass, using the space they had bought me to once more bring my blades up before throwing them yet again. Yet again the air was filled with the screaming of steel as it cut the wind.
The Fraga was off balance now, desperately trying to pull back enough for her to get a grasp on just what I was doing. The four blades were circling, spinning madly and inscribing strange and confusing paths through the air as they did so. Even as a third set of the blades materialized in my hands, she was forced to twist, her body off balance as she barely managed to evade a copy of Bakuya that had nearly taken her by surprise from behind. Off guard and reeling, I finally Projected the other nameless blades I had prepared before I had begun my counter attack. They launched, one after another as the Fraga managed to throw herself to the side, driving her in the direction I wanted.
"Our names reach the imperial villa," I shouted, folding the twin swords behind me as I did so. Prana surged through my circuits, hot as I flooded the blades in my hands with it. As my od filled the twin dao in my grips, the shapes of the legendary implements began to crack, the power too much for their already mystic frames to bear. Extending behind me, the steel grew, like a sponge being supplied moisture, the unnatural expansion causing the steel to splinter, shards barely attached to the once elegant shapes.
They became fragile. They became dangerous. They became Broken.
The Fraga saw all this as I prepared for my final attack, her eyes narrowed as she continued to be driven by the singly launched swords. Whoever she was, she was no amateur. She had no doubt already figured out that I was herding her, trying to drive her towards the center of the lot she had launched me into. Wary of some ward or trap I might have laid before hand, she planted herself firm, and once more her fist blurred, stopping the plain sword I had just Projected with one of her insanely powerful punches, and wheeling about to slap a copy of Bakuya that she caught sight of from the corner of her eye. Even as she blocked one copy of the white sword, the second copy cut into her, a jagged line across her shoulder that sprayed a small mist of blood from her where it cut.
I grimaced at her successful avoidance of my attempt to relocate her, but continued to flood my swords. "The two of us cannot enter heaven together," I grit out. Damn. This could make things tricky. While she had no doubt been suspecting my attempt to herd her as a method of trapping her in some way, the truth of the matter was that I had merely wanted to place her in front of the shed that served as my workshop. I knew damn well how destructive what came next could be, and had hoped to keep the damage limited to the lot by using the shed to absorb the rest of the attack. Without anything behind her, I would have to be careful to keep the destruction aimed away from any of the other buildings in order to keep any innocent bystanders from being hurt. It would take maneuvering, fragile and precious seconds to ensure that no one else was drawn into this conflict, and in a battle like this, seconds could be the deciding factor between which of us would still be alive in a matter of moments.
Even as I bit my lip and planned just what angle I would have to take, the Fraga's eyes widened at something behind me, and she leapt again, once more in the direction I wanted her to go. An instant afterwards, a dagger of ice landed where she had been only a moment ago. The moment the shard struck, the ground erupted, a crystalline structure of jagged razor sharp edges.
Good girl, Akitsu.
With nothing left to slow me down, I charged, wings of steel at my back. The Fraga's gaze met mine, and she planted herself firm, her eyes narrowed as she resigned herself to matching my attack. Four blades of black and white homed in on her, and I brought down the great behemoths I had crafted, aiming to cut the Fraga into pieces.
"Crane Wing Three Realm" I shouted, triumphantly. The twisted and Broken Noble Phantasms in my arm shattered, each sliver of steel becoming a needle aimed at the enemy magus who had dared to strike at my home and attack my family. The four blades I had created earlier would join in, and like the incantation I had spoken, the two blades would not be able to enter heaven together. Like combining an acid and a base, when the black sword met white sword a reaction would occur, an explosion that would destroy everything in the radius of the blast.
Even as the attack began, the Fraga showed no fear. Instead, a small smile crossed her lips. From the same pouch as earlier, a lead grey orb arose.
"Fragarach!" she declared, throwing one arm triumphantly in my direction. The orb rippled, and then it reshaped itself once more, a blindingly bright dagger. My own attack disappeared, gone through whatever mystic method the Noble Phantom employed in order to make its miracle known. A cacophony of light lanced towards me, every ounce of power from the explosions the four entrapping Kanshous and Bakuyas would have produced combined with every needle of steel the Broken blades had produced.
The triumph on the Fraga's face only lasted a moment, and then it was replaced with shock.
Hovering over my own shoulder, shedding its own light, a gleaming dagger flashed. "Fragarach," I retorted, my voice almost clinical as I did so.
Projection complete. Not the best work I had ever done. I had gotten its shape down, and most of its history as well. I think I might have missed a bit during the sympathizing stage, but it was my first time with this new Noble Phantasm. Even as my own attack was returned, the Sword of the Gorging God I had recreated flashed, and then the target of the force I had originally created through the use of the Crane Wing Three Realm was once more redirected, again aimed at the Fraga who was even now palming the pouch at her hip.
There was a reason that magi so jealously guarded their mysteries. Every spell that was created had advantages and disadvantages to it; every feat of thaumaturgy could be countered or overcome with enough study. Like right now: if the Fraga had known just what my true ability was, just how powerful Unlimited Blade Works ability to comprehend and recreate blades really was, then perhaps she wouldn't have so casually used what was obviously her trump card earlier. Most likely she would have instead done everything in her power to conceal the Noble Phantasm from me to ensure that she didn't put such an ability in my grasp.
Now though, it was too late.
My eyes narrowed as I took in the third grey orb that the Fraga revealed from the pouch at her hip. My eyes feasted on it, and if I wasn't so firmly in battle mode at the moment then I would have frowned. It was the same Noble Phantasm, yes, but just like the two before it had minor differences between it and the other incarnations of itself. I reviewed the history of it, sympathizing with its creation and comprehending the minor changes. Each Fragarach was one she had recreated, a process of forging and magecraft which was then soaked in her own blood for a month at a time. Minor details between each such as the precise amount of time down to the minute that they had been charged with the Fraga's blood were made clear to me. It looked like this one was a bit shoddier then the others, not enough to affect its ability, but noticeable in its own way.
"Fragarach," she grit her teeth, nearly not making it in time to stop my counter to her counter. Once more the original force of my attack was directed at me.
"Fragarach," I threw back at her. Like a demented game of ping pong the attack bounced back and forth between us. The battle was nearly mine at this point. Each Fragarach the Fraga used was one that had taken her months to create. Even if she had been creating and storing them for years, she would eventually run out. Me, on the other hand, as long as there was still od for me to call from I could continue just making new ones, endlessly recreating the same Noble Phantasm. My circuits were warm from my continuous channeling of prana, but the cost of creating a Fragarach was nowhere near that of some of my other blades.
"Fragarach!" she shouted, a note of panic in her tone. She must be running low at this point. The only option she had was to keep using her trump and hope that however it was that I was imitating them was in some way limited, or that I would slip up and miss the timing. Her eyes were wide, and sweat dripped down her forehead, but when she saw me once more form my own sword, she sagged, her eyes drifting shut for a moment.
"Fragarach," I told her. Her eyes opened and she gave me a bitter little smile.
"Apprentice my ass," she told me, and then the repeatedly countered attack finally struck someone. The blue light rolled over her, her clothing and flesh being shredded, her body buckling and distorting under the power, and just like Miya she was launched backwards. The attack pressed her, driving her already dead corpse into the wall of my workshop, shattering past the minor wards I had used to safeguard it from entrance, and collapsing the walls. With a long groaning noise, the cheap shed meant originally be a place to hold household goods collapsed, concealing the body from view.
Great. And I had almost finished that damned washing machine too.
YOU ARE READING
In Flight
FanfictionHonestly, Shirou was beginning to think that he should be used to this; being unwittingly selected to take part in brutal tournament that he had no idea existed until he found himself in the middle of it. Then again, second times the charm, right? M...
