In Flight

30

It had a two on it.

For some reason, that was the first thing I could really focus on. It was still the same heptadecagonal shape, nearly identical to the last Jinki I had seen. In fact, the casing which gave it that shape was so closely identical to the last one I had seen that I had the suspicion that it must have been created as the same time and by the same process as the earlier one one.
Still, at least I could understand that casing. It was the same synthetic polymer as before, and though it was tough, extremely tough in my expert opinion, it was still human in origin. Probably made by MBI at some point in order to contain the THING inside.
It was that THING that I realized was the true Jinki. That sphere, well ovaloid, well spherical-ovaloid, well spherical-ovaloid composed of an infinite number of asymmetrical planes which were set at simultaneous perpendicular and parallel arcs from each other whose arcs had the radius of the square root of pi divided by zero to the nth power while also bizarrely tasting of not purple but orange with an after flavor prismatic opalescence…
"Ouch," I yelped, jumping as a sudden pain dragged me from my thoughts. Muddled I turned a confused eye to the one whom responsible for the assault. "Did you just pinch me?" I demanded fuzzily.
"Mhmmm," Kazehana nodded, and though her expression was serious I couldn't quite remember why.
"Okay," I nodded, the clarification appeasing my confusion before I paused. "Why on the butt?" I added a second later.
"Well, if I absolutely had to pinch you, where else would I do it?" Kazehana pointed out, and once more I found myself nodding to her logic. It did make a twisted kind of sense, but as my thoughts began to clear more I frowned as something else came to mind.
"Why did you have to pinch me on the butt?" I demanded, my eyes narrowed as I realized that the assault was completely uncalled for.
Instead of responding this time, Kazehana's eyes just narrowed and she nodded towards my front. Following her direction I looked back and came face to face with a blood stained Uzume who was looking a little bemused by the interaction.
"Oh yeah," I muttered, recalling that this was no time to be distracted. Unfortunately, that didn't do much to actually clear up my distraction, so I shook my head hard, hoping the motion would help focus me. Finally, I was able to turn back to Uzume, though this time I made sure to not look at her outstretched hand and the Jinki clutched in it.
It took a whole lot more effort than something that simple should, but considering I doubted this would be an entirely peaceful meeting, it would probably be better not to degenerate into an insensate distracted state again.
Using that same focus, deep inside in that imaginary place of mine, a hammer was slowly pulled back and prepared. It could be dropped in a heartbeat, but I went no further than that for the moment.
"So," Uzume began, her eyes still shadowed and serious, but a brief upturning of her lips let me know that she had definitely caught the irreverent exchange. "Am I interrupting something?"
"Just a little," Kazehana drawled. Despite the casual words, the Wind Sekirei's tone was unusually serious for her. It was completely lacking of her usual light hearted teasing or her sultry seductiveness. It was a voice that sounded like it belonged to a Sekirei who had stood against entire armies of aircrafts and left those armies burning in her wake.
"He-heh," Uzume's customary chuckle also lacked her usual amusement, and the small smile disappeared completely. "Sorry about that, but I'm afraid I can't go away and come back later. Not now."
"Where did you get that Jinki, Uzume?" I asked, my eyes drifting to the blood stains on her sheets. Behind me, I heard a rustling that I assumed to be Matsu finally realizing something had delayed us on our way to my room.
"From the winners of the second match," Uzume shrugged jerkily. "They weren't going to need it anymore, and I figured I could get some use out of it."
My eyes narrowed. Well, it looked like I wouldn't have to put the winners on my 'Sekirei to watch' list. In fact, I doubted I'd have to worry about number seventy three, Namiji, or her Ashikabi, Takano Kouji, at all anymore.
Beside me on my left Akitsu shifted, and though the snow woman didn't let go of where she was still clutching my arm she did adjust herself until more of her body was in front of mine. Her posture straightened, her chest thrusting out as her free arm fell down to its customary position at her side.
It was her favored battle position, though in her current seductive outfit I wasn't certain if it was more threatening or less than it usually was.
"So why are you here?" I asked, my voice almost diffident as Akitsu prepared herself. There were only a couple of reasons that someone who had just admitted to terminating another Sekirei in order to get their Jinki would should up in blood stained clothes at the place where another Jinki was being held, and most of the reasons I could think of weren't the pleasant kinds.
Which is why when Uzume hesitated for a moment, and then finally sank to her knees, putting the Jinki directly in front of her and then placing both her hands on the floor and lowered her head to rest them on it in the 'Dogeza' prostration position only used for the highest display of reverence or for making the most earnest of requests that I paused, not quite sure what was going on.
"Please, Emiya-san," Uzume spoke, still kneeling. "Please, I want you to save my Ashikabi!"
In my head, the hammer relaxed, slowly settling. At my side I could feel Kazehana draw in a surprised breath of her own, though Akitsu still remained stiff. Behind me I heard Matsu quietly mutter an, "Uzume-tan!" in surprise.
"Why don't you come inside?" I suggested, taking a step back and indicating Matsu's room. "This sounds like a conversation which shouldn't take place in a hallway."
*Scene Break*
"You know already, about my Ashikabi?" Uzume began once we were properly settled. Perhaps because she was nervous or maybe because she was still trying to ask a favor, but Uzume had ended up sitting by herself in the center of the room. She was kneeling in the seiza position though she was fidgeting as she did so.
I had taken the same kneeling position across from her, though I was apparently a little more calm then the cloth user and managed to sit still. Akitsu, as was her usual, had finally detached herself from my arm to assume a position behind me on my left. Despite the familiarity of the situation the snow woman was still in her modified battle stance with both her arms hanging directly at her sides as she watched Uzume like a hawk. Matsu was sitting by us, but she had assumed a position closer to one of her computers, and was idly turning one of her detachable keyboards in her hands as she directed her attention at her long time housemate and friend.
It was a tense scene, but that tension was little diminished by the fact that in defiance of common sense Kazehana had chosen to just lay herself down next to me so that she could curl on her side like a cat on the floor with her head on my lap. It was a little uncomfortable for a variety of reasons, such as proximity of her head to certain areas, the way one of her hands was idly toying with the knees of my jeans, and the way that her lounging had put her obscenely sheer bedclothes all in disarray.
It took almost as much effort not to let my eyes wander down to the view of my Sekirei as it did to not let them wander to the Jinki that Uzume had brought in with her and put in the center of the room between us. I guess I should count my blessings that I happened to have the iron and indomitable will of a magi trained to maintain his concentration in life or death situations.
Alright, maybe my eyes did wander a little bit, but at least I was lucky that they wandered to the female in my lap rather than the mystic artifact capable of rendering me a stuttering fool with one look.
Okay, maybe both of the distractions were capable of rendering me a stuttering fool normally, but at least in battle mode I could shunt the girl induced stuttering foolishness to the side until later.
Focus, Shirou. Focus.
"Chiho Hidaka," I answered Uzume's question, forcing my eyes to meet hers. "Age, seventeen. Orphaned at age fourteen due to a plane crash. Current guardians, a maternal aunt and her husband responsible for the oversight of her trust fund. Suffering from a long time illness, and requires hospitalization for treatment."
"Yeah," Uzume grimaced, probably not liking just how much I already knew about her Ashikabi but having expected it anyway. Uzume took a deep breath, and then pressed on. "How much do you know about her treatment?" she prompted, and it was my turn to narrow my eyes.
"Not much," I admitted, turning to give Matsu a brief glance. When the hacker met my eyes a moment later she gave a brief shake of her head, before settling her keyboard and beginning to type. Uzume noticed the movement, and just shook her head.
"I'll save you the time," the Veiled Sekirei told us. "Her treatment is extremely expensive, and there's only one known medical facility that can provide it." Uzume hesitated, and then took a deep breath. "And the only hospital that can do it just happens to be owned by Izumi Higa."
I couldn't stop myself from taking a quick breath: Izumi Higa, the Ashikabi of the East. "Oh," I muttered, and this time it was me who couldn't stop myself from grimacing. "Oh."
Well, that changed things. That changed things a lot.
"Matsu," I began, and when she paused I continued. "I want you to go through the rest of the files later and look for other connections to Higa in the rest of the Ashikabi profiles. Things like workforce, debts, familial connections, that kind of stuff."
"Okay, Shirou-tan," Matsu nodded, though with a look of confusion on her face as she did so. "But, why…?"
"Because I didn't even see this one coming, and I really should have," I told her, before turning back to Uzume. The Veiled Sekirei had paused, and seemed confused by my reaction. "I didn't even realize that you were on his list of blackmailed Sekirei," I told her, shaking my head ruefully. In my lap, I felt Kazehana tense, probably at the revelation that Uzume had been compromised.
"You didn't?" Uzume seemed honestly surprised by the revelation of my ignorance, and I wasn't certain if that made me proud that I had managed to foster such a reputation for being well prepared that me not already knowing about something came as a shock, or disappointed in myself for not being able to live up to that expectation. "But, all those times that I came and asked you for profiles, and then they turned up…" Uzume trailed off, biting her lips and looking down as she did so.
Every one of the profiles that Uzume had ever borrowed from me had turned up as a level three or four. Often, their Ashikabi's had been damaged as well. It was what had made the rumors of the Veiled Sekirei so ominous, after all, the way she appeared without identifying herself, attacked even the Ashikabi, and then disappeared without guarding the fallen.
"I thought you were just following your Ashikabi's plan," I admitted, shrugging uncomfortably as I did so. Uzume tensed and when she looked back up her eyes were narrowed.
"You mean you thought that Chiho would ever suggest something like…!" Uzume began, and from the raising tone of her voice she definitely didn't seem happy with my assumption of her mate's ruthlessness.
"I didn't mean it like that!" I hastily cut her off, holding both hands up placating. "I meant that I thought it was for her protection!" Uzume paused, and her eyes narrowed further.
"What do you mean by that?" she demanded, still tense. Most of her cloths had settled to the ground at the beginning of the meeting, probably as a show of peace, but with her rising aggravation some of the bolts were beginning to shiver on the floor, motions which were either wave like or serpentine.
"Well, your Ashikabi was in the hospital, and couldn't really defend herself," I hastily explained. "If anyone were to find out about that, then she would have been an easy target. I thought you were taking down other Sekirei in disguise so that no one would be able to identify you and manage to track you back to her. I figured that was probably why you were living away from her too, so that just in case anyone did survive and could identify you they wouldn't be led back to your Ashikabi."
Like I had told her before, attacking without warning and leaving no clue was a good plan, one I wish I could have been as lucky to use. It made extra sense in Uzume's case. With her Ashikabi in such a perilous position, making sure that no one ever found her that might want to take advantage of her became even more important.
Unfortunately, it looked like my biggest error was in assuming that no one had already found her.
Uzume was tense for another moment, before she seemed to deflate as the fight went out of her. "Yeah," she admitted softly, nodding as she did. "Even if Higa had never found her, then you betch'ya ass I wouldn't have let anyone else near her."
"I'd expect nothing less from a Sekirei for her Ashikabi," Kazehana spoke up from my lap, making me start slightly as she did so. "For a Sekirei, nothing is unforgiveable if it's done in the name of love."
Uzume paused a sec, and then she gave a crooked little smile. "Damn straight, nee-chan," she told the older Sekirei.
"Still," I cut in, happy that I had managed to adequately defend my earlier assumptions. "If you've been doing the East's dirty work for a while now, then just why are you here now?" Even if it was against her will, whatever system that must have developed between Uzume and Higa had apparently been in force for a while now judging by how many targets Uzume had had in the past. The only reason she would be coming to me now would be if something had changed. "What happened?"
"It wasn't that hard at first," Uzume admitted, her shoulders hunching as she did so. "In the first phase it was usually just that asshole secretary of his calling me and giving me targets. But a bit before the second phase began Kakizaki started asking me for information about you, bro."
"I can guess why," I shook my head palming my face as I did so. "That was right about when the situation with Tsukiumi began."
I knew that giant debacle would come back to bite me. I just knew it.
"Right," Uzume nodded. "I didn't say anything!" she added hastily, probably trying to assure me that she hadn't betrayed me. "I got away with saying that I already had a way at getting at your information, and that if I tried anything else you might get suspicious, but they started pressing more and more. Finally, they started making threats towards Chiho."
The flash of pure rage that went across Uzume's face at those words actually unnerved me a bit. It made me very thankful that I was not the one those feelings were directed at.
"So then what happened, Uzume-tan?" Matsu also seemed to notice the Veiled Sekirei's anger, and I got the impression that her words were more meant to distract her then they were to move the conversation along.
"Well, they were starting to get really pushy," Uzume admitted, swallowing back her anger in an actually visual move. Uzume turned her gaze back to me, and her crooked smile returned. "But then, well, then that whole wizard thing came up, bro. And when the Third Phase started, and Higa changed my orders to get the Jinki, I thought that hey, as long as I'm going to be stealing a prize, why don't I try trading it for something else, right?"
"Magi, not a wizard," I corrected automatically, before I realized what she was implying. "Wait, you mean…?" I trailed off, starting to get where Uzume was going with this.
"Yeah," Uzume nodded. "So…" she began hesitantly, one hand coming up in what looked like an unconscious gesture to scratch the back of her head. "I don't suppose I could convince you to use your heal3 Ava-thingie on my Chiho, could I?"
Of course. The Sekirei with an Ashikabi in the hospital, finding out that one of her roommates just so happened to have insane regenerative powers. I felt like pounding my head into the wall. All of Uzume's curiosity, all of her questions about my recuperative abilities; I had thought that they had been probes for potential weakness. The idea that Uzume might actually want to use them herself for her Ashikabi hadn't even occurred to me!
Looks like I was still feeling the legacy of the Grail War. Even though I had been trying to adjust my mindset, doing what I could to remind myself that the Sekirei Plan wasn't as vicious as the other tournament I had been in, it seemed even now my thought process was still a little too brutal.
Still, self-recriminations could wait.
"Alright," I nodded to Uzume's request. "I'm in." In my lap I felt as Kazehana took her turn to start at my instant acceptance. Matsu also glanced over, her eyes widening in surprise.
"I know you don't have any reason to help," Uzume continued in a rush, leaning forward as she did so. "I know that someday we might be enemies, and that it will just be helping out someone you might have to fight later, but please! I'm willing to trade the Jinki for it, and I'll help take out other Ashikabi, anything, just…." It was about then that Uzume blinked, my earlier words finally penetrating her desperate babbling. "What?"
"I said I'll help," I told her firmly, nodding as I did so. When Uzume didn't react any further to my reaffirmation, instead just staring at me blankly with her mouth agape, I narrowed my eyes, not sure just why she was reacting like that. "What?" I asked, starting to feel a little uncomfortable.
Looking to the members of my flock who were present I realized that Kazehana had rolled over in my lap so she could look up at me directly, a surprised expression on her face. Not sure why she was staring at me like that, I glanced over at Matsu, wondering if the hacker would be able to explain just why her fellow former Disciplinary Squad member was behaving like that only to see that she was also just staring at me, blinking repeatedly as she did so.
"Is there something on my face?" I asked, glancing over at Akitsu to see if she was imitating the rest. The snow woman was staring at me as well, but at least it was with her normal expression, the one she generally wore when she spent long periods of time just looking at me.
"Shirou-tan is really going to help?" Matsu finally asked, rubbing at her eyes as though in disbelief. "Just like that?"
"Well, yeah?" I half responded and half asked, starting to be confused myself by the strange actions of the rest of the room. "Do you not want me to or something?" I asked, wondering if maybe this was another one of those weird Sekirei things that I hadn't been made aware of.
"No!" Uzume instantly yelped, one hand coming up to wave at me furiously. "I mean, yes! I want you to help! Please!"
"Then why is everyone…?" I began, still not sure just what was going on.
"It's just, well," Uzume began, her fidgeting increasing as she glanced to the side. "Well bro, it's just that most of your plans have been kind of scary so far," she finally admitted, slumping as she did so. "I didn't think you'd be willing to help me so quickly."
"Scary…" I repeated, my eyes narrowing. A part of me was a little offended by the accusation that not only was I 'a little scary' but that it was somehow unexpected that I would be willing to help in some way.
And then I remembered just what Uzume meant when she said that most of my plans were scary. Most of the ones she was aware of did end up with me bloodying my hands a good deal.
"Well that was before the Jinki were added into the equation," I declared, waving my hand in the general direction of the present artifact without looking at it directly. "Those change everything!"
"So I guess it was good I brought one after all," Uzume sighed in relief, before pausing as I shook my head, my lips pressed into a thin line.
"I'm not just doing this for the Jinki," I told her. "I'm not doing this because helping you would cause Higa to lose a powerful pawn, or give him a bloody nose. Uzume," I began, giving the Veiled Sekirei a straightforward look. "I'm doing this because you're a friend, and you're someone who needs help. I'm disappointed in myself that I gave the impression that you couldn't ask for help without trying to bribe me first!"
"Well said, Shirou-tan," Matsu whispered, and from how quietly said it I don't think that she actually meant for me to hear it. The smile on her face after my exclamation, however, she made no effort to hide. Kazehana seemed to also have her own bit to add.
"Mmmm, Shirou-kun," the Wind Sekirei hummed, one hand coming up to trace my cheek, directing my gaze downwards. "Did I mention I love it when you talk so manly, Ashikabi-kun?"
I obediently let her guide my gaze, not quite sure why she was doing it and kind of hoping that I would get an explanation at some point before I gulped. It looked like her gown had shifted when she had rolled off her side onto her back, and the sight of the small opaque pieces of the top of her gown not covering the areas they were supposed to was enough to cause me to flush and quickly glance away.
Kazehana chuckled slightly, and I felt her wiggle a bit more though I carefully did not look to see just what the wind user was planning this time. "I'm going to have so much fun breaking you of that shyness!" she enthused, and I swallowed again at what I could assume was some sort of ominous omen of the future.
"Fuhuhu, fuhuhu," Matsu's perverted chuckle provided me a target to lock my eyes onto, and even though it looked like the shameless Sekirei was enjoying watching me get thoroughly teased by Kazehana, Matsu at least seemed to have gotten past whatever had caused the weird reaction earlier. "So should Matsu start waking up the others, Shirou-tan?" the hacker suggested, referring to the rest of my flock that had already gone to bed. It seemed more like a way to change the subject and get the conversation back on track, but when I shook my head Matsu paused, blinking again at my denial of her suggestion.
"No," I said firmly, thankful for the reminder that there were more important things to focus on then just what my final flock member was wearing. "There isn't enough time."
"Not enough time to wake up the others?" Uzume asked, fidgeting as she did so. It looked like now that my assistance had been promised she was restraining herself a bit less then she had earlier. She shifted slightly, pulling her legs free from under her and sprawling them a bit to the side. Seiza position might be incredibly formal, but it really was hell on the legs for sitting long periods of time.
"By now, Higa has to realize that something is wrong," I pointed out, my eyes narrowing as I started to slip into battle mode. "You said he sent you to get the Jinki, right? Well, if you haven't got back with it by now, than he must be suspecting something."
"No," Uzume shook her head, and I focused on her. The Veiled Sekirei's expression was certain as she continued. "He always insists that I take the long way back whenever I report in. He doesn't want anyone being able to follow me. He won't be expecting me back for at least another two hours, maybe as late as dawn."
"Good," I nodded, adding the information to my plans. "That gives us some time. Still, it's better to assume we will only have only about half that much time. He already knows that you've been getting more rebellious lately. Plus, this is the first time he's given you a task which wasn't just a simple hit, right? A guy like him would probably have some insurance in place."
"So what's the plan, Shirou-tan?" Matsu asked, settling her glasses on her nose as she did so. With keyboard ready, the hacker looked like all she needed was an order before she'd be off.
"For now, Kazehana, Akitsu, and I will go with Uzume to get her Ashikabi," I rattled off, and in my lap I felt Kazehana nod.
"Alright!" the Wind User cheered, leveraging herself up so she could jump to her feet. "This way I get to watch Uzume and her Ashikabi's lovey dovey reunion!"
"Uhh," I began, finally losing the battle with my blush. "First, you should probably get changed."
I expected some kind of affirmative reaction from the wind user, seeing as running around the city and performing clandestine operations in skimpy lingerie never really struck me as a practical way to go about things, but instead Kazehana just winked at me, jutting her hip slightly as she put a finger to her mouth in a teasing pose.
"But Ashikabi-kun," she purred, and I had to swallow at the tone of her voice. "I was thinking that this would be a fine way to serve as a distraction if needed!"
"I'll say," Uzume muttered, and for the first time since the conversation started I could make out some of the tomboy's usual spunk in her voice. "You don't hold much back, do ya, nee-chan?"
"Just go get dressed," I muttered, trying to find some place to look at that wouldn't be inappropriate. When I found my eye straying towards the Jinki instead, I snapped my gaze up to the ceiling. "And someone put that away," I added.
"Well it would have been hard to get dressed without putting these away," Kazehana chirped, and I involuntarily glanced towards her to try and figure out what she was talking about to find her with her arms under her breasts, flaunting her chest in a most distracting matter.
"Just go!" I finally snapped, unable to keep my voice from rising in embarrassment as I pointed my finger towards the door. With a throaty chuckle, Kazehana sashayed out of the room, and I definitely did not watch as she did so.
"What about the rest of us, Shirou-tan?" Matsu asked as she shuffled forward towards where the Jinki was still resting. "And why isn't there time to wake everyone else up first?"
"Because it would take a while to explain everything to them all, and that would be time we just don't have," I admitted. Not just the explaining, but the reactions as well.
I wasn't quite sure how Tsukiumi would respond in general to the idea of helping a fellow competitor in the Sekirei Plan. From what I knew of the water user she could go either towards refusal to help a potential enemy to outrage at Higa's actions in regard to the Plan. Musubi would probably not understand at first, but when faced with the chance to support love she would probably eventually jump at the chance. Kuu would probably go the same way. Homura was another one who I couldn't quite predict. With his past actions as the guardian of Sekirei he might be all for chipping in, though he could just as well advocate caution and taking our time at the moment. Whatever he chose, I was also certain that the flame user would no doubt raise a strenuous objection to me being involved at all.
Even if they all decided to contribute, it would take time to get everything straightened out. More than that, if they did decide to chip in they might want to come along as well and that might do more harm than good. There were probably going to be enemy sentries, and for all that it could be considered an enemy base it was still a hospital. I didn't want any of the other patients, or the doctors and nurses, getting involved.
This would probably be best done as a discreet operation: get in, get Uzume's Ashikabi, and then get out with minimal fuss.
"So Shirou-tan is going by 'easier to ask forgiveness then permission'?" Matsu concluded, quirking one eyebrow at me as she pouted. "That's unexpectedly sneaky of you!"
"Well, that and there are other things I'm going to need," I admitted. "I figured I could leave you the list, and once we're gone you could wake the others and explain what's going on before getting them on the rest of the supplies."
"And now Shirou-tan is going to make Matsu do his dirty work," the hacker complained, her pout growing though she still seemed amused. "Matsu didn't think it would be more work for her when Shirou-tan finally started acting like an Ashikabi."
"One of the benefits of being a leader is the ability to delegate," I told her, rubbing my eyes as I did so. It had been a long day, and even with the nap I had gotten earlier in the bath I was starting to feel it. All the tension of watching the first match combined with the additional stress of beginning my planning was beginning to catch up with me a bit.
"Well, I'm willing to follow your lead for now, bro," Uzume added, and I was thankful for that much at least. It looked like now that she had committed to this course of action Uzume was going to go all the way. However, I noticed that the Veiled Sekirei was starting to smile about something. "However, ain'tcha forgetting about something?"
"Like what?" I asked, my eyes narrowing as I tried to go over the elements of this impromptu plan. What was it that Uzume had noticed that I hadn't?
When she pointed behind me, I turned slightly and realized what it was she was hinting at. With a sigh, I massaged my forehead.
"Akitsu, getting dressed means you too," I reminded the snow woman, still kneeling obediently in her indecent sleep outfit at my left.
"Ah," Akitsu nodded slowly. "Yes." With her usual measured grace, Akitsu slowly stood, her posture relaxing for the first time since Uzume had shown up as she did so. With deliberate steps she followed Kazehana, walking out the door and heading towards my room where she had probably stored her usual outfit.
I definitely did not watch her as she left either.
I think that if it hadn't been for Uzume showing up when she did, I might just have been in some serious Danger if I had slept with the two of them tonight looking like that.
"I must be more tired than I thought," I muttered to myself, shaking my head again as I tried to focus on the incoming operation to save a hospitalized girl from the evil clutches of her oppressor. "I honestly forgot that she was even there."
"Oh!" Matsu chirped, and discarded her keyboard so she could crawl under one of the tables supporting a collection of her screens. With the upper half of her body concealed and her lower half wriggling as she apparently searched for something she continued her voice muffled. "In that case, why don't you try one of these, Shirou-tan?"
Without quite pulling all the way out, Matsu half tossed and half rolled a small plastic bottle out from wherever it had been concealed. With a curious look, I picked it up, reading the label.
"An energy drink?" I asked, looking at the small bottle with curiosity. It claimed to be even better than coffee, and somehow miraculously contained enough vitamins and minerals to also be healthy and natural. Honestly, it looked a little small to me, but I had seen stranger things in my time.
"Matsu is a hacker, after all," the braided Sekirei enthused as she pulled herself out of her little cubbyhole. "Every hacker knows they have to have caffeine!"
"Well," I muttered with a shrug as I cracked the bottle and threw it back quickly. "Worth a shot. Now," I wiped my mouth briefly before focusing again. "Let me get you started on the list of supplies I'll need."
*Scene Break*
"Wow," Uzume whistled as she gave me a curious look. "I guess Matsu really knows her caffeine."
"Why do you say that?" I asked, a little curious at the strange observation.
"Well, it looks like whatever that stuff was it was strong enough to get you jumping from roof to roof," Matsu pointed out, landing as she did so and resuming a sprint. I landed a second after her, and did the same, keeping up with the alien easily. Behind me and beside me Akitsu and Kazehana were also leaping from building to building as the four of us raced through the dark night, high above the casual observation range of most of the residents of the city.
"It's magecraft, Uzume," I told her, snorting at the idea of just some coffee substitute being enough to give me the strength to use the unofficial high roads of Shin Tokyo that most Sekirei seemed to love to take.
"Huh," Uzume grunted, giving me a slight grin as she did so. "Come on, bro. You expect me to believe that your hocus pocus is doing that? Nah, must be the coffee!"
"Well, it would explain just why Matsu is always so high strung," I admitted, playing along with her joke.
"Hmmm," Kazehana chimed in. "Well, extra stamina is always good!" It didn't take a genius to realize that the Wind Sekirei wasn't really referring to moving quickly at the moment. This time I didn't even blush at the implication. I got the impression that this was going to become pretty common in the upcoming days.
Always before Kazehana had been a flirtatious albeit distant figure in Izumo House. The flirtatiousness had always been a part of her character, at least that's the conclusion I had come to from prior interaction with her. However, for the most part the Wind Sekirei had always made sure to keep a certain amount of space between the two of us. Before she had been reacting, after all, and the number zero three, had at first tried to keep that concealed through the use of distance. Later, after I called her on the reaction and assured her I wouldn't take advantage of it she had become a bit more personable, but still had kept her distance to make sure she wouldn't accidently be overwhelmed by my overreaction causing tendencies.
Now though, with our contract, or marriage I guess as most Sekirei tended to think of the ritual, it looked like not only was Kazehana going to be in my presence a lot more, but also if I had thought that she liked to tease before then it seemed I had seriously mistaken just what 'teasing' really was.
Though, I wasn't really sure if it counted as teasing anymore either. It was only teasing if they weren't going to follow through with it. It was called flirting otherwise.
"Akitsu," I called, interrupting my thought process as our small group started to approach a particularly high incoming building. Though Izumo House was located in a mostly suburban area of Shin Tokyo, the closer we got to the center of Shin Tokyo the higher the buildings started to become. Even though with my currently reinforced body I was capable of mostly keeping up with the aliens running beside me, there were still limits to my Reinforcement.
"Yes, Ashikabi-sama," Akitsu murmured as she appeared in an instant at my side, one hand already drifting to secure itself around my waist as my own arm settled on her shoulder. In another one of those strange moments of synchronicity between me and my flock our steps fell in line without me even realizing it, and we both crouched and launched ourselves in complete tandem in order to make it up to the next roof.
"Ah, no fair," Kazehana pouted as she followed us into the air. Akitsu and I landed again in perfect synch, before separating as we continued to sprint through the night. "Next time it's my turn, Sexy-Panty-chan!"
"Still, it is kinda unreal," Uzume added, giving me a curious look as she darted in to study me more closely. "I kinda never really thought a human could do something like this."
"Most can't," I admitted, shrugging briefly as I did so. "Even most magi don't ever learn how to do this kind of thing. However, as a Magus Killer, physical enhancement is a pretty important skill. This is actually one of my best spells."
"Huh," Uzume grunted, looking reluctantly impressed at my physical capabilities. "I guess it kind of makes sense how you can fight with other Sekirei," she concluded, shaking her head as she did so. She paused, giving me a curious look. "What else can you do, bro? I mean, I missed most of the shindig that you had with that other wizard lady. If it comes to a fight, how are you going to do it?"
I wasn't quite certain the reason behind Uzume's questions, but I had a few good guesses. It made sense that she would want to know what to expect if this mission would devolve into conflict and it came to a battle. More than that, it could just be curiosity over my capabilities. It would make sense for her to want to know more about the person she was gambling her Ashikabi's future on.
Of course, there was also the possibility that she was gathering information for when she confronted me herself. However much I wanted to set aside that possibility, it still remained in the back of my head.
However, considering the last time I had thought that Uzume was trying to seize me up I had misinterpreted her desperation for aggression, I made a conscious decision to give the Veiled Sekirei the benefit of the doubt.
"Trace on," I muttered, and between one step and the next Kanshou and Bakuya appeared, brandished behind me as I continued to run. Uzume whistled, giving the two blades a measuring look as she did so.
"So I guess that makes you for sure the Ashikabi with swords," she noted, sounding like she really wasn't too surprised by the revelation. "So these are your weapons?"
"Some of them," I told her, the feeling of the two Noble Phantasm's in my hand warm, comforting, and familiar. Still, there was no point in keeping them out for long. With another thought, I let them dissolve, the pressure of the world erasing them in a shower of faintly luminescent flakes as they disintegrated in a heartbeat.
"Ah," a voice at my side caused me to glance over and I found that Akitsu had closed in at some point, her proximity somehow not interfering with my run. I blinked, trying to figure out why it was that the snow woman was so close. There wasn't another jump I'd need her help with for a while yet. For some reason Akitsu also looked a little disappointed about something.
"You're being pretty open with this kind of thing," Kazehana's voice pulled me from my befuddlement, and I changed my gaze to take in the Wind Sekirei instead. She was running easily along with the rest of us, her long ponytail streaming behind her in the wind as she sprinted. Kazehana moved with a casual grace, even at this speed. Her sandaled feet rarely made any more contact with the ground than the balls of her foot, and it almost looked like instead of running she was simply leaping from purchase to purchase, lazily drifting through her element as she did so.
It was a jarring realization that this was the power of the former Disciplinary Squad, and it made me a little less proud of my ability to keep up with my Sekirei.
They were probably holding back quite a bit, even now.
"Well, there's no point in concealing as much anymore," I admitted, shaking off the brief surge of inadequacy. There was no cause to be competitive with creatures that fundamentally existed at a higher level of ability then I. I was already used to it, having dated Saber after all. Getting jealous over someone because they can physically beat you out in every category wasn't a good way to go about a relationship. "I've had to conceal most of my abilities for a while now because I was hiding the fact that I was a magi. Now that you all know though…"
I trailed off, and Kazehana nodded as she understood my implication. Now that they knew, I would be able to use a lot more of my powers. It would make things a lot easier in any future fights.
"If I wasn't counting on that kind of thing, then I'd probably say that's pretty ominous, bro," Uzume noted, and though her tone was mostly lighthearted her smile was a bit crooked while she did so.
Despite the attempt at brevity, I found myself grimacing at Uzume's playful words, choosing not to respond to them verbally after a moment. Though she had meant them as a joke it was a reminder of just how Uzume thought of me, as a ruthless killer whom she had to first bribe before I would even consider helping her and her Ashikabi.
Well, it was better than being thought of as a viable target, I suppose. This was what I had been trying to do when I set out to get myself a reputation for being dangerous. I guess I'll just have to bear with it for now.
It wasn't going to matter soon, after all. With this, I'll be two Jinki down on my impromptu treasure hunt. Just one more at the least, three more at the most, and then I'll be gone and I'll have other things to worry about besides whether or not a bunch of bonded aliens and humans were scared of me or not.
"Akitsu," I said again, noting as another tall mass marked the start of a new level of building height before me. Just like before the snow woman appeared beside me instantly as I instinctively adjusted my pace to match hers. However, this time I realized I had two arms around my waist, and a glance to my right showed me that Kazehana had been serious about getting in on jump time.
Despite the fact that the three of us should probably have tripped considering our unusual proximity, when it came time to jump once more all three of us smoothly timed out interaction, and all together we sailed through the air easily to get to the next rooftop. Afterwards, both Akitsu and Kazehana lingered a bit too long for my taste, neither one of them apparently wanting to be the first to let go, before the wind user finally detached herself. Akitsu followed suit a moment later.
I had the feeling that it was going to take some time before I fully got used to these little challenges that seemed so common amongst my flock. Musubi and Tsukiumi's constant face offs had finally started to become routine, and I wondered briefly if maybe Akitsu and Kazehana had somehow managed to strike up a similar type of relationship. If so, it seemed like it would probably be a great deal more amicable than Musubi and Tsukiumi's.
I didn't exactly see Musubi and Tsukiumi coordinating their sleepwear for a joint seduction attempt any time soon.
For a few minutes as the four of us ran a period of silence settled down on us as a whole. Uzume seemed to take my silent response to her earlier observation as a sign that I was upset with her, while Akitsu's quietness was a natural state for her, and it looked Kazehana was subtle enough to read the mood and lay off any more of her erotic teasing for the moment.
Still, as the tension began to build I couldn't help but understand that I was being a little petty. The truth was, the fact that Uzume had thought that the only way she could get my help was bribery and that I wouldn't be willing to help her without it was, as juvenile and immature as it might be, a little bit of a sting to me. Then again, I suppose it wasn't unwarranted. Actually, as the silence dragged on I had to admit that it was probably a mutual feeling at the moment.
I had honestly thought that Uzume was doing her own ruthless eliminations of her own will as well.
Still, while both of us might have reason to be offended at the other, it probably wasn't the smartest idea to go into a delicate operation like this one with those feelings lingering. It looked like my previous experience with touchy women was shining through again as I realized that the best way to handle this would be just to apologize up front. Taking a deep breath, I prepared to do just that.
"Uzume," I began, and it looked like I wasn't the only one who had something to say as at that exact moment the Veiled Sekirei broke in with her own, "Bro…"
The both of us cut off, and when I glanced over to see what it was she wanted I met Uzume's own somewhat reluctant gaze. The two of us paused for a moment, each of us waiting for the other to go ahead. Finally I nodded, holding one hand up in invitation.
"Ladies first," I offered, and Uzume gave a crooked smile at my faux manners.
"Bro," she began, and then paused again. "Shirou," she began again, using my actual name instead. "Can this really work?" Even if her nervousness hadn't been apparent in her voice, the bolts of cloth trailing behind her like streamers would have given away just how anxious the Sekirei really were. They writhed behind her, irregular serpentine motions that punctuated the more natural motion that our quick pace caused.
"Can what work?" I repeated, thinking of several different topics she could mean. "The extraction?"
"That too," Uzume nodded, "but I meant your magic healing thingy," she continued, giving me a desperate look. "Can it really do it? I mean, I've seen it do some pretty impressive things with Miya, but for Chiho…" Uzume trailed off, her lips pressing together as her worry for her Ashikabi caused her voice to tighten.
"I think so," I nodded seriously. Uzume gave me a quick look, her eyes narrowed.
"Just think so?" she snapped, and though the aggressive tone made Akitsu bristle, I let it slide.
"I've never once been sick in my life," I continued, turning to look towards the next jump. "Heck, I've never even had a cavity. Though I can't be one hundred percent certain, seeing as I've never attempted something like this before, I can say that I'm probably about ninety percent sure that this will work."
Uzume was rigid for a few more moments before the tension finally seemed to seep out of her. I got the impression that if she wasn't currently running she might have sagged to the floor. "Sorry," she muttered, glancing away. "I know that you promised to help, but it's just…" Uzume grimaced again. "I've done so many things," she continued in a soft tone of voice. "Things I'm not proud of. Things that I didn't want to, that I'll probably never be forgiven for. I don't regret them, not one bit," she added, her voice fierce. "If I hadn't done them then Chiho would have suffered. It's just that now, I finally have the chance to make things right, to really help Chiho…"
When Uzume trailed off, I nodded, thinking I understood what she wanted to say. "Now you just don't know if you can believe it's true?"
"Yeah," Uzume smiled, though it looked more like just a grimace that bared her teeth than any kind of happy gesture. She gave me a quick glance. "Ever get that kind of feeling, bro?" she asked, a bit of sardonic humor in her voice as she did so.
I think it surprised her when I nodded seriously.
"Ever since I found out what the Sekirei Plan was, I've been trying to find a way to deal with it," I admitted, and it was my turn to speak softly. "But no matter what I came up with, nothing would work, not the way I wanted it to. Every time I tried to come up with a new plan, it always ended up with an even higher cost than the last. No matter how hard I looked, there was nothing but bad choices waiting."
If I went with Archer's plan and destroyed MBI, hundreds of humans would die and thousands more would suffer. If I had used Kiritsugu's ideal and just forced the Sekirei Plan to an end than the entire species would have been wiped out, the hundred and eight aliens a sacrifice for the safety of their Ashikabi and the innocent bystanders of Shin Tokyo.
And if I went with Saber's plan, and just finished the Sekirei Plan according to the rules, even that wasn't without consequence. After all, the idiom of the Sekirei Plan was that the Sekirei had to fight, and fight, and fight, until there was only one left: not one Ashikabi, one Sekirei.
It meant that at some point even my own girls would have had to turn on each other. Either that or I would have had to make a choice over which one I would support and which ones I would have to discard.
And if it was necessary, if I had thought it was required, I would have willingly followed through with any of those plans. No matter how hard I had tried to push it away, no matter how much I had steeled myself for it, it was still a fact which had left a bitter taste in my mouth every time I thought of it.
"Shirou," Kazehana murmured, and I glanced over to find the Wind Sekirei giving me an inscrutable look as she listened to my confession. Uzume didn't say anything, but it looked like she understood, a hint of empathy in her expression as she listened to my own confession.
"But that doesn't matter now," I continued, my tone rising. "Finally, after waiting so long, I have a way. It's a way for everyone to survive, for everyone to be happy, for everyone to be saved. The fact that it gives me a chance to help save your Ashikabi just makes it that much better." My voice was fierce as my smile widened. "There's no way I'm going to let it go now. I will not fail!"
"Heheh," Uzume's chuckle was also fierce, a sharp edge to it as she responded to my assertion. "Hell yeah, bro." For what was probably the first time tonight, Uzume's stance regained some of her confidence as an anxiety she probably couldn't suppress was finally relieved. Her grin widened a bit more as she then shot me a curious double look. "So. Not even cavities, eh?"
"Never been to the dentist once in my life," I nodded, my smile growing a little more jovial at the lighthearted and irreverent comment. Uzume whistled, her grin growing in response. Then she paused, a hint of confusion reappearing.
"What was that about having a way to save everyone?" the Veiled Sekirei asked, her brow creased as she recalled that particular tidbit from my declaration. I blinked, and gave her a curious look.
"I guess you left before you heard that bit," I muttered, realizing that Uzume apparently hadn't heard my latest plan for dealing with the Jinki. "When did you leave earlier, anyway?"
"Pretty much right after the match started," Uzume admitted, scratching the back of her head as she did so. "I had turned off my phone so that Kakizaki couldn't bother me, but once I realized the Third Phase was starting I figured it would be best if I checked in with them quick."
"Oh," I murmured, nodding as several things began to click. "So I guess you really didn't have telemarketer problems," I noted, thinking back on just how many phone calls I had seen Uzume getting in the last day or so. They had started right after I had winged Kazehana, so I guess Higa must be keeping pretty good track of MBI's records if they had figured that out right away. It made me a bit annoyed to realize that the East had been more up on top of the Third Phase than I had been.
"Like I'm dumb enough to get myself on one of those things," Uzume snorted, and I glanced away, feeling sheepish that apparently I was the only one to have that kind of problem. The Veiled Sekirei gave me a cautious look as she continued. "So what's this about having a way to stop the Plan?"
I shook my head in bewilderment. So Uzume had brought me the Jinki without even realizing what she was doing? Man, I wasn't certain if that was just good luck or some kind of karma, but whatever the case if Uzume had been happy thinking she had just found a way to cure her Ashikabi then finding out there might be a chance to live with her peacefully afterwards was really going to make her day.
*Scene Break*
"Come on," Uzume muttered, a note of urgency in her voice as she gave me a small glare. "I thought you were in a hurry to do this."
"I might be in a hurry, but rushing in only ever makes things worse," I told the impatient Sekirei, eyes narrowed almost to being closed and with my head tilted almost completely upwards as the four of us remained concealed in the dark alley.
"Geez," the Veiled Sekirei muttered, shaking your head. "Always with the planning. Tell me something, bro: Have you ever done anything spontaneous in your life?"
"Yes," I told her, nodding my head as I responded, still trying to concentrate despite the distraction. "Quite often when I was a kid. It got me stabbed a lot."
"Right," Uzume grumbled, and despite her apparent surrender I noted that she still sounded rebellious.
"I might be a bit of a slow learner," I chided her, still sniffing the air as I did so. "But if even I can learn to take a moment before charging in, then doing just that is probably a good idea."
"That's alright, Shirou-kun," Kazehana assured me, and when I cracked an eye open it was to find her grinning mischievously at me. "We didn't fall in love with you for your brains."
"Oh? Then why did you fall in love with me?" I asked, almost bemused by the casual banter.
"Well, I did because you're so good in bed!" Kazehana chirped brightly, and I was sure she had waited until I was mid sniff just so she could watch me choke on it. Uzume snorted too, though probably because she was amused rather than shocked.
"Is now the time?" I muttered, feeling my cheeks flush slightly at the blatant insinuation.
"It's always the time, Lover-kun," Kazehana assured me stretching in a way which absolutely could not be casual considering just how it showed off her curves.
"Ah," I was mildly surprised when Akitsu also chimed in, and turned to give her a small glance during her pause. "That's why I did too," she confirmed, nodding her head slowly.
I stared, completely unable to really comprehend what I had just heard. It took me a second to reconfirm the small yet proud smile that was forming on the snow woman's lips, accompanied by a tiny blush as well. Had Akitsu really just made a joke? And about something like that too?
I was beginning to suspect that Kazehana just might be a bad influence on the former scrap. And despite that growing certainty, I had no idea what to do about it. I mean, it was yet another sign that Akitsu was starting to come further and further out of the shell her one time condition had imposed on her, yeah, but on the other hand…
Alright, think about potential Danger later. For now, focus on the more imminent type of danger.
"So far I've detected three other Sekirei," I declared, purposely ignoring the direction the conversation had started to veer towards earlier. "However, I still can't manage to figure out anything else about them."
"Why not?" Uzume asked, happy that we were making progress towards the rescue of her Ashikabi. Kazehana pouted briefly, but only for a moment before she focused herself to.
"I just can't figure out what their scents mean," I admitted, shrugging reluctantly. "Which probably means that they're weapons users of some type."
When it came to Sekirei with elemental powers I was usually pretty good at reading my impressions of them. However, whenever it came to something a little less obvious my senses were a bit less reliable. Musubi had smelled like a bear, after all, despite being a fist fighter, I still hadn't figured out just what it was that Matsu reminded me of, and the two Sekirei I had fought against while rescuing Tsukiumi might have had the distinct odor of arousal but that had indicated more about their temperament than their abilities.
"So we come in from above, take out the three of them, and then get to Chiho?" Uzume summed up, looking eager to get to the action. She grimaced impatiently when I shook my head.
"They'll be expecting attacks from the above," I told her, wondering just why it was that Sekirei always seemed to like coming in from the high roads. Tsukiumi had seemed to have a love of rooftops when we were reacting and Homura had seemed uneasy when I had him walk on the road while we were searching for the water user. Though we had traveled most of the way here in the same route, I had made sure that we came back down to street level when we got within viewing distance of the hospital so that we wouldn't be picked up by any sentries. It might be a convenient way to travel quickly, I admit, but I still stood by my reservations about it being just too obvious a way to identify non-humans.
"Besides," I added, shaking my head again. "I don't want this to turn into a fight if it doesn't have to. For all that this might be enemy territory, it's still a hospital. I wouldn't put it past Higa to have his Sekirei under orders to use patients as hostages or shields if they need to, and I don't want bystanders to get hurt. And even if we do take out the Sekirei then MBI will dispatch their recovery teams, and I don't want any chance of interference from them either."
"Alright," it took Uzume a second before she finally agreed with me, though she looked like she was reluctant to do so. She grimaced a moment after. "I'm not really on good terms with MBI either, ever since I helped Matsu escape in the first place," she admitted.
I blinked, not having known that little tidbit either. I guess it made sense that Matsu would have had help getting away with one of the Jinki. It might even be a second reason why Uzume had always made it a point not to be nearby when one of her targets was being recovered as well.
"Do you know how to get to your Ashikabi's room?" I asked, focusing instead on hammering out the last details of the plan.
"Of course," Uzume snorted. "I've been sneaking in to see her after hours for months."
"Mmm," Kazehana purred, a sly grin forming. "Getting some secret love-love time with your Ashikabi?" I wasn't certain if the wind user was trying to lighten the mood again, or if this was just her reverting to her typical school girl persona in the face of story book romance, but Uzume grinned slyly in response and looked pretty darn smug about her achievements.
"Well I don't want to go in directly," I told her, now firmly sinking into battle mode as the details came together. "Can you get in from a different location and then find your way there through the hallways?" Uzume took a moment, considering my question before nodding firmly. With a final pause to go over the details in my head, I nodded.
"Alright, here's the plan," I began, and I was pleased that both Uzume and Kazehana seemed to calm down, serious expressions coming on to their faces. "Akitsu, Kazehana," I glanced at my Sekire in turn. "I want both of you to split up. Take to the roofs, and see if you can locate any of the sentry Sekirei. In five minutes, if they're outside then engage them. Try to make it a surprise attack, and take them out without a fight if you can. If you can't locate them outside, or if it becomes a battle, lead them back away from the hospital as far as you can, and then go ahead and fight them. I want them far enough away from the hospital not to either endanger the other patients or to come back for Uzume's Ashikabi."
"What about you, Shirou?" Kazehana asked, and despite her concern she was still all business. I nodded towards the Sekirei not in my flock.
"I'll be going with Uzume to secure Chiho," I informed them. Uzume gave me a quick glance, and then nodded briefly. "With the two of us we should be able to deal with any of the sentries if you two don't get a chance to take them out or distract them in time. That way, if we get Uzume's Ashikabi and then get ambushed while we're retreating there will be at least one of us not tied down carrying her."
"Understood," Kazehana, nodded, once more slipping into a more serious mode of her own. At my left Akitsu nodded slowly as well, the chink of her chains as they shifted audible.
"Understood, Ashikabi-sama," the snow woman agreed.
See, this was why I had taken just the two of them. If Homura had been here we would have lost at least ten minutes with him arguing against me going off on my own, Tsukiumi would have complained about sneak attacking being unfair, and Musubi would probably have already charged in.
"You sure about this, bro?" Uzume asked, her face set. I got the impression that even if I wasn't, it wouldn't be stopping her from going through. Her body was tense with impatience, and I thought that if we didn't move soon then worry for her Ashikabi was going to finally overcome her so far admirable patience.
Was I sure about this? I was only deliberately aiding a potential enemy by healing their Ashikabi and revealing some potential secrets of my magecraft. Not only that, but I was going to be going alone with a Sekirei that had already shown herself to have no problem with attacking even other Ashikabi, and was damn good at it too.
Okay, maybe I hadn't quite moved beyond that recklessness of my childhood after all. I'll just chalk this up to one more under 'Legacy of a Misspent Youth'.
"Let's go," I said firmly.
*Scene Break*
Considering that this could be considered my first deliberate major action of the Sekirei Plan, I was reasonably concerned that it would end badly. Rescuing Kusano had been unexpected, and had ended up with me making my first termination of the Plan. Going to have a conversation with Tsukiumi had cumulated in what was still considered the largest conflict in the game so far. Even just going out to experiment with my Sekirei's Noritos had eventually ended up with me hospitalizing an Ashikabi.
It was because of all that, that when Uzume and I slipped easily through the door separating the hallway from Chiho Hidaka's room only a minute and a half after we had our group had separated to our individual tasks, I was marginally surprised that there had been no incident yet.
I suppose it helped that this was actually a planned action. By their very definition, 'covert extractions' were generally meant to be 'covert', after all. It looked like taking those few minutes to hammer out the details with everyone was already beginning to pay off.
The Nagayama Association Hospital was a fairly typical looking, for a hospital anyway. At seven stories tall and with four wings, it definitely gave the appearance of a modern place of medicine. Taking into account that Chiho's treatment was apparently very expensive and rare, it was probably logical to assume that Nagayama was most likely a forerunner of medical advances and technology.
However, while a hospital might need some surveillance in it just to keep it running, it wasn't exactly a fortress. It had taken Uzume less than five seconds to jimmy open the lock on the window she had chosen as our entrance point. Seeing that the window had been on the fifth floor, I had actually required Uzume's assistance in order to make it to our break in point. I guess the experience from her own frequent break-ins to see her Ashikabi in the past was shining through.
It had been an odd feeling, being cradled in those long bolts of cloth that were constantly circling her, kind of like being in a hammock actually. Once the window was open, letting us into a room half full of sleeping patients attached to a variety of machines, we had proceeded soundlessly out the door and down the hallway. Hospitals at night were rather quiet places, and with the dimmed light of the hallways the only illumination it lent the place a mysterious, perhaps slightly spooky air to it. Uzume proved just how well she had come to learn Nagayama during her nighttime trips to meet her Ashikabi when she led the two of us through a somewhat labyrinthine series of turns through the hallways of the hospital that somehow managed to avoid any nurse stations or other potential encounters with employees.
We moved quickly and with purpose, not needing to speak as we jogged over the linoleum floors of the hospital. The only time we broke our pace was when Uzume slowed down as she approached one final door. The placard on the frame revealed the name of Uzume's Ashikabi. Slowly, with a warning glance at me as though to tell me to keep quiet, Uzume opened the door and I got my first real look at her Ashikabi, Chiho Hidaka.
I'd seen pictures of Chiho before, so I knew mostly what to expect. Uzume's Ashikabi was a young looking girl, only around seventeen according to the profile Matsu had put together on her. With long light brown hair spread out on the pillow around her head, and dressed in a light pink nightgown, Chiho had the appearance of a sleeping angel or a delicate porcelain doll.
The moment we quietly stepped into the room, a change came over Uzume that was so noticeable it reminded me of when I switched into battle mode. It was as though a tension which was so ever present in the Veiled Sekirei just vanished completely. Uzume's expression softened, and her shoulders slumped a little, and a small worshipful smile started to form on her lips. It was startling, just how different Uzume appeared from her usual self in Izumo House. With a bit of surprise I realized that this was probably the first time I had ever seen the tomboy Sekirei really relax. Even at Izumo House when she was playing around with my flock or laughing uproariously at the chaos that haunted my life, Uzume must have always kept a small part of her ready, a part of her that always remembered that she might need to one day fight against any of us, that in order to protect her Ashikabi and get her the medical attention that she needed the Veiled Sekirei could one day be called on to come for even the friends she had made.
But here, in the presence of her Ashikabi, Uzume was at peace.
It made me a little uncomfortable to see, actually.
While Uzume slowly made her way to the bedside to kneel at her Ashikabi's side, one hand coming up almost hesitantly to trace a long lock of the sleeping girl's hair, I couldn't quite suppress an uncomfortable need to shift in embarrassment. Despite the fact that I was invited, I felt like I was intruding on something here. In order to cover for my embarrassment, I decided to focus on the things I could do. Making sure to stay out of the way, I decided to focus on Chiho's medical records instead. Uzume didn't even notice when I made my way to the foot of the bed, taking the rather thick clipboard that was hung there so that I could flip through it.
It only took me a moment to find what I was looking for on the records, and when I did I couldn't suppress a victorious grin at what I found.
The one hang up on this entire plan that I had managed to isolate was just what it was that Chiho had been suffering from. Matsu had already given me the heads up that the other Ashikabi was sick, that much I had known. But just like the two of us had never made the connection between the hospital and Higa, I hadn't ever really paid much attention to the specifics of the illness. It had been enough to know that I would be able to locate the other Ashikabi if things ever became… unfortunate.
Because of that, I hadn't known just what it was that Chiho had been suffering from. I had been reasonably assured that whatever it was, Avalon would be enough for it. Saber's scabbard was one of the most powerful healing artifacts in the world, after all. It had seen me through injuries that should have been my death probably over a dozen times by now. However, the key had been that Avalon functioned as a regenerative artifact. If whatever it was that Chiho had been suffering from had been something congenital, something she was born with or something innate to her, I had honestly had no idea how Avalon would have responded to the condition. It had been possible that while Avalon would restore any of the damage caused by a defect like that it wouldn't know to correct the actual problem. The end result would have been a cure for Chiho, yes, but only a temporary one.
Luckily, it seemed that Chiho wasn't suffering from any kind of condition like that. It seemed that her illness was a genuine one, something she had apparently caught when she was very young. The clipboard proclaimed her disease to be something called 'Systemic Lupus Erythematosus', and while I had no idea just what that was, her medical history clearly indicated that it had been contracted when she was still a toddler, and that her worsened condition was the result of the disease's progression.
This was the final piece I had needed. With this that ninety percent certainty could be upgraded to ninety nine percent. I'd have to get Matsu to double check everything on her treatment list, but even if complications might come up later, it had taken thirteen years for Chiho's illness to reduce her to this state. If I put Matsu to it I'm sure I could find something, maybe some new experimental treatment to cover any chances of relapse. Hell, if I gave the hacker enough Noritos we could probably even check MBI to see if they had a cure as well. The company had gotten to where it was based on its medical technology.
Still, that was later. For now, getting Uzume's Ashikabi somewhere safe was the priority.
"Chiho," I heard Uzume whisper, and when I glanced back at her it was to find her still kneeling by her Ashikabi's bed, that soft smile only wider as one hand gently stroked the sleeping Chiho's forehead.
I prepared myself to interrupt, opening my mouth to remind Uzume that we needed to move, when the girl on the bed opened her eyes, locking gazes with Uzume from inches away.
"Uzume-chan," Chiho murmured, gazing sleepily at the shocked Sekirei. "What's wrong? It doesn't look like you've been crying again…"
"Eh?" Uzume grunted, her cheeks flushing as she gave her Ashikabi a look like a deer caught in headlights. She recovered quickly, and Uzume broke into an easy grin, rocking back on her heels so she could rub one hand against the back of her head while she waved the other dismissively. "Haha!" Uzume laughed, and it sounded so natural that if I didn't already know better I never would have assumed it was forced. "Me, crying? Why would I do that?"
"I know," Chiho murmured again, the girl's voice certain despite the hint of sleepiness still present. Weakly, the sick girl raised one of her hands and clasped the hand Uzume had been waving in the air. Uzume froze, and despite the fact that she could have probably pulled free easily the Sekirei made no move to extract her limb. Instead, the blush on her face only grew. "I know," Chiho repeated, smiling at the frozen Uzume. "I'm your Ashikabi, right? When Uzume is happy, so am I. And when Uzume is sad, then I'm also sad. Even when you want to cry, really badly, you always smile for me, don't you?"
Uzume didn't seem capable of moving as Chiho interlaced her fingers into the frozen Sekirei's. With a smile, Chiho continued. "I know everything about you, you know that?" Chiho asked, her own blush coloring her cheeks. "…That's because I love Uzume-chan."
That seemed to be about all that Uzume could take, as she pulled her hand away from her Ashikabi so that she could put it on her chest, her blush nearly electric in the dark room. Almost bashfully, Uzume brought one hand up to her face, scrubbing at her eyes surreptitiously as she did so.
"I," Uzume began, before pausing to swallow. "I love you too, Chiho." With a quick sniff, Uzume seemed to recover herself. The Veiled Sekirei began to grin, and the startled expression was quickly replaced with something a lot more mischievous. "Ne, ne," Uzume began, wriggling forward so that she could prop her arms on Chiho's bed. "Can we kiss? Pretty please? Can we?"
"U-Uzume-chan!" Chiho didn't quite squawk, but even I could hear the embarrassment in her tone as the sick girl seemed to shrink in on herself, her hands disappearing as she wiggled them under her sheets so that she could pull her covers closer to her chin. Despite her earnest and straightforward declaration of a moment ago, it seemed that Chiho was a rather shy girl. It looked like she didn't know how to handle being propositioned so bluntly like that.
It was while the Ashikabi was looking around the room, most likely for something to distract her amorous Sekirei, who was still closing in on her lips while wearing an expression that I'm pretty sure I'd seen on Matsu a few times right before she tried to experiment on me, that Chiho realized that it wasn't just the two of them in the room.
"Eh!" it was Chiho's turn to 'eep' in surprise, and the covers which had only been at her chin a second ago were raised even higher until they covered her nose as well. With only her eyes visible, Chiho stared at me, though whether it was in embarrassment at having been witnessed while saying something so romantic or fright at a strange man appearing in her bedroom in the middle of the night I couldn't quite be certain.
"U-Uzume-chan," Chiho continued, glancing over to discover that Uzume hadn't really given up on her quest for a kiss and the sick girl squeaked again. "Uzume-chan! Someone is watching!"
"Oh yeah," Uzume muttered, blinking as she did so. It looked like she had honestly forgotten that we hadn't come here just so she could sneak some, as Kazehana would put it, 'Love-love' time with her Ashikabi. Her face sobered as Uzume glanced at me, a grimace reappearing as she did so. "Chiho, about that. This is…" Uzume trailed off, looking like she didn't know how to even go about trying to explain this situation to her unaware Ashikabi. When Uzume gave me another quick look, this one as though she was imploring me for help, I decided to take things into my own hands.
"I am called Shirou Emiya," I quickly introduced myself, stepping forward and offering a polite bow as I did so. "Though this is our first meeting, I'll be in your care."
"Oh," Chiho breathed a little easier and the covers began to lower a bit from her face. "My name is Chiho Hidaka," the other Ashikabi responded, before returning the traditional greeting. "Please, take care of me too."
Once more, it looked as though the Japanese tendency to rely on customary formality to break the ice has shown through. Unfortunately, it was at this point that I realized that maybe I hadn't planned quite as well as I had thought I had.
I had no idea what to do next.
Somehow, telling this shy girl peeking out from beneath her bed sheets that I was a magi capable of using a mystic legendary artifact capable of fully regenerating her from a condition which by all conventional medical technology was completely incurable didn't seem to really have the weight of credibility with it. Moreover, mentioning that I was doing so in order to free her loyal Sekirei from being blackmailed by a shady business man who had been using the Sekirei that she loved to do horrible things in the name of expediency just seemed crass.
As the silence that had formed began to drag on, I glanced at Uzume helplessly. Judging from the way the tomboy's lips were pressed together and her eyes were darting from Chiho to me, it looked like Uzume was similarly uncertain about just what to do next. On the bed, Chiho was also glancing nervously between myself and her Sekirei. It looked like the other Ashikabi was aware that things weren't quite as simple as a late night visit from her Sekirei.
"Ano," it finally seemed that Chiho was the one who ended up taking charge of the scene. "Pardon me," the teenager began, the blanket lowering a bit more until it was all the way beneath her chin. "Might you be the same Shirou-san that lives with Uzume-chan?"
"Uh, yeah," I nodded, a little thankful that the conversation was moving again. Chiho seemed to relax, and a smile started to reappear as she finally lowered the blanket below her shoulders to the position it had been in before she had used it as an impromptu barrier.
"Then I must thank you," Chiho's smile was very kind and her voice was touched with gratitude. "Uzume-chan mentions you and the others quite often. It seems that you have always been looking out for her."
"Oh, it's nothing," I assured her, once more falling back to polite conversation as a cover. "Uzume has always looked out for me as well." After a second, I couldn't stop myself from indulging in a bit of curiosity. "So what has she been saying about me?"
"That Shirou-san is much funnier than T.V," Chiho began, suppressing a small giggle as she did so. "That every day he keeps getting into silly trouble!" I blinked, and then turned a deadpan look towards Uzume. The Sekirei gave me a wry half grin, apparently completely unapologetic for corrupting her Ashikabi into thinking of my life as a form of amusement. A second later Chiho blinked, and seemed to realize that maybe she should have been a bit more discreet then to admit directly to a person that they had been listening to stories of their life like one of those weird reality shows. "Oh!" Chiho gasped, once more retreating behind her blanket in embarrassment. "I'm sorry! I didn't even think…"
"It's fine," I assured her with a sigh, rubbing my forehead as I did so. "Honestly, it's about what I expected from Uzume."
"Um, Uzume-chan says more than just that!" Chiho hastily added, giving me an earnest look as she tried to apologize for her earlier misspeak. "She says that even if Shirou-san is very serious, he is also strong and reliable!" I blinked, again, a little surprised that the usually playful Uzume seemed to actually hold me in such regard. "Uzume-chan has mentioned that Shirou-san has helped her often in the past, and that he is a good person!"
"Chiho," Uzume cut off her Ashikabi, her tone embarrassed as the Veiled Sekirei tried to cover up the fact that despite using me for entertainment she apparently held me in pretty high regard.
Honestly, I wasn't certain just how the conversation had turned to such an odd topic, but even as I opened my mouth to respond the mostly quiet night was interrupted by a ferocious muffled cracking noise. It didn't quite have the concussive force of an actual explosion, but both Uzume and I tensed as we recognized it for what it was. It sounded as though a large stone or cement wall had been shattered.
The two of us shared a glance, already coming to the same conclusion. It seemed that five minutes had already passed, and it looked like either Akitsu or Kazehana hadn't been able to terminate their targets free of complications. It looked like we were out of time.
Well, I still hadn't thought up a way to break the news to Chiho gently, but the time for that had passed. It looks like I'd have to resort to bluntness.
"Hidaka-san," I began, my voice firming up as I tried to keep my expression stern but unintimidating. "I would like to ask you to come with us."
"Go with you…?" Chiho began, her voice trailing off as she took in my serious tone. The bedridden Ashikabi gave a quick glance at Uzume, only to find that her beloved Sekirei's expression had also lost its playfulness. I had honestly expected the girl's next question to be confused about what was going on, but instead I was surprised when Chiho just turned back to me. "Does this have to do with whatever it is that is causing Uzume-chan to suffer?"
"Chiho," Uzume yelped, the tomboy hastily moving to reassure her Ashikabi. "It's nothing like that! What on earth would make you think that I was suffering or anything?" Uzume had pasted a cheerful look on her faith, and her tone was touched with laughter as the Veiled Sekirei tried to reassure the human she had bonded to.
"Uzume-chan," Chiho cut her off with a small smile. "I told you already, didn't I? That I love you? That I know everything about you? Of course I would know if you were in pain. Even if there was nothing I could do about it, even if I was the cause of it…"
"You could never cause me pain, Chiho," Uzume cut off her Ashikabi fiercely, reaching out to take her Ashikabi's hand once more. "Never."
"Uzume-chan," Chiho began, before cutting herself off with another blush at the sudden contact. It looked like she was seriously considering retreating under her bed sheets again before she took a deep breath and turned back to me instead. "Please," Chiho began. "Can you tell me, Shirou-san?"
Well, I was officially impressed. I didn't know what I was expecting when I agreed to meet with Uzume's Ashikabi. For a long time I had thought that she had been behind Uzume's secret campaign, and had built up the image of someone who might not quite be an evil person but was at least somewhat calculating. Instead, even after only a few minutes of conversation I was already certain that Chiho didn't have a cruel bone in her body.
More than that though, it was the almost uncanny empathy that the bedridden girl was almost casually displaying. The way she seemed to read Uzume's every movement, the way she had instantly come to the conclusion that my presence was related to whatever shadow was hovering over her Sekirei. Even earlier when Uzume and I hadn't been certain how to proceed Chiho had managed to read the mood and set both of us at ease effortlessly.
I wasn't certain if her ability to understand so much so effortlessly was in some way related to her status as an Ashikabi or if she was just naturally so perceptive. Whatever the case was, her straightforwardness deserved an honest reply as well.
"Yes," I nodded in response to her earlier question. "It has to do with that." Uzume shot me a warning look, as though trying to caution me not to reveal too much about her activities, but I focused instead on Chiho. "For the past few months, a bad person has been using your hospitalized status to blackmail her."
"Shirou," Uzume hissed, a betrayed look on her face as I revealed what she had most likely been desperate to conceal. Before she could say anymore though, Chiho simply tightened her fragile grip on the Sekirei's hand. When Uzume glanced back at her Ashikabi it was to find the gentle girl giving a knowing, albeit sad smile to her. With her other hand, Chiho stretched out to indicate one of the sheets which circled her Sekirei. When Uzume followed her Ashikabi's gesture she flinched to find it was the sheet still stained with blood from earlier. Finally, Uzume looked to the floor, unable to meet her Ashikabi's smile.
Even I could tell what Chiho was trying to say without words: that she had already known.
"Then why are you here, Shirou-san?" Chiho prompted me, turning back to give me that same resigned smile she had just turned on Uzume.
"Recently, I have gained access to an experimental procedure," I told her, trying to scrap together enough of my rather limited ability to twist the truth to come up with a suitably vague yet believable story for what I was about to propose. "Though there is some risk involved, if it's successful then it should be able to treat your condition. When Uzume found out, she asked if I would be willing to use it in order to help remove you from the danger you're in here."
"An experimental procedure?" Chiho repeated, looking down at her blanket as she did so. "So if I transfer to this new facility, then I will be able to continue receiving treatment without Uzume-chan having to suffer?"
"Not quite," I admitted, and Chiho gave me a curious look. "If the procedure is successful, then you'll most likely be entirely cured."
I was expecting a variety of different reactions to this offer. For Chiho, the thought of being actually cured, of never having to stay in the hospital again and being able to return to a normal life, it should have been an inconceivable idea. I was expecting doubt, or maybe anger at what might seem like a cruel prank on her hopes. I was even expecting excitement over the thought of a disease that had been with her probably since before she could even remember being gone at last.
Instead, Chiho surprised me again.
"And if it works, then Uzume-chan will never have to suffer again?" the bedridden Ashikabi asked, apparently the only thought on her mind how best she could protect and help her Sekirei rather than herself.
"Yes," I told her, and then paused, deciding that might be a bit too generous. "I meant that the ones responsible would no longer have any leverage on her, and that you and her will be free to go about your lives as you choose," I clarified. It wasn't like I could promise that she would never suffer again. Life was too strange, too uncertain to be able to make an oath like that.
But I could do this much at least.
Again, Chiho surprised me with her next statement. I had thought that there would be more questions, more doubts that needed to be answered. Instead, Chiho just closed her eyes for a second before reopening them. Without another moments wait the sick girl began to sit up, pushing her covers away from her as she did so.
"Take me with you," Chiho declared, struggling to pull herself into a seated position. "I don't want to see my beloved Uzume-chan in pain or losing her voice from crying because of me anymore."
"Chiho," Uzume whispered, no doubt touched by the fact that the one driving element behind her Ashikabi's choice was how her decision would affect her Sekirei. I know I was touched anyway.
It was almost inspiring the way that Chiho seemed so dedicated to Uzume. I already knew just how far Uzume would go for her Ashikabi, but to see an Ashikabi going so far for her Sekirei was a bit rarer, as far as I knew. This was what Sekirei were meant to have, what winging was truly supposed to be: them finding a partner, a mate, and then bonding with them. Receiving and giving their affection in turn to the one who was most suited for them.
This was what the Sekirei Plan had taken from the species. And this was what I was hoping I'd be able to give back to them once I had gathered enough of the Jinki.
For now though, it would be better to focus on making sure Chiho was taken from here safely.
Which raised a whole new point in my head which I apparently hadn't put enough thought to.
Just how was I going to treat Chiho without revealing the existence of magecraft to her? It would be pretty hard to explain away the procedure I was planning for the use of Avalon as medical in nature, seeing as it would probably end up being more of a ritual than anything else. Ideally, it would be best for Chiho to be asleep for what was to come, but I wasn't certain how to go about putting her in that state. Drugs would probably be enough, but I had no idea what kind of drugs would be appropriate and what might potentially be harmful due to her condition. Besides that, there would be the problem of Avalon actually working to purge those drugs from her system as well.
It was times like this that I wished I was a better mage. Being able to use hypnotism at this point would make things so much simpler.
"For now," I began, making sure to meet Chiho's eyes as she continued to try and force herself into a sitting position, and giving a halfhearted attempt at lacing my words with prana while simultaneously projecting my od through my eyes into hers like Rin had explained to me when she had tried to hammer hypnotic suggestion into my head, "you should just sleep and get some rest, Hidaka-san."
It came as a complete surprise to me when Chiho's eyes instantly drifted shut as she slumped backwards on her bed. At her side, Uzume yelped, scrambling forward on her knees so that she could frantically run her hands along her Ashikabi's face.
"Chiho," Uzume called, her voice rising as panic began to set in. "Chiho!" I wasn't certain if it was just panic affecting the Sekirei who had been tense the entire night or if she somehow managed to connect my suggestion to sleep with the unanticipated onset of the condition, but Uzume's head snapped to face me, an angry snarl already forming on her lips. "What did you do, Shirou!"
"Hypnotism," I said blankly, staring at the still form of Chiho. "I just hypnotized her to put her to sleep." If I had made that statement with more surety then it would have just been a statement of fact. However, even I could tell that my voice sounded more confused than confident.
"Hypnotism?" Uzume was still tense, but it seemed like she was calming down. "Is that more of your wizard stuff, bro?"
"Well, yeah," I admitted, too out of sorts to correct the title that I was beginning to suspect Uzume was deliberately misusing as a way of teasing me. "But that shouldn't have worked."
"What, because you didn't have a pocket watch or something?" Uzume asked, and despite the fact that she was still continuing her inquisition the tomboy was beginning to gather up her Ashikabi, gently wrapping the still girl in the long bolts of cloth like I had been earlier. It seemed that now that Chiho had agreed Uzume was ready to take her and get the hell out of here.
"Because I can't hypnotize people," I admitted, still frozen in confusion. Uzume glanced at me, pausing in her task at picking up her Ashikabi. "It's one of the areas of magecraft that I suck in. I've never hypnotized anyone in my life."
"What, so you just had a breakthrough or something?" Uzume snorted, and began to resume her task before she froze again. "Is she going to be okay?" Uzume demanded, her expression once more slipping into something fierce as she glared at me from the corner of her eyes. "Something didn't go wrong, did it?"
"I have no idea," I admitted, and the moment the words were out of my mouth I realized that I should be doing something besides contemplating my unexpected success. I hurried to kneel beside Uzume, not even caring that it put me unprotected and in range of her favorite weapons. Quickly I reached one hand out, placing it on Chiho's neck. There, her pulse was fine, beating regularly, not as strongly as I'd prefer but that was more likely the result of her long bout of illness than anything I had done. Focused, I shifted my grip to gently peel back the still girl's eyelid. Her eyes were unfocused, and I noted that they were twitching slightly from side to side in what I realized was REM movement. Even as my hand lingered on her skin I tried to focus my magical sensitivity. Normally I perceived prana phenomenon through smell, yes, but this was my own od, and I was more naturally attuned to it. There, I could sense the lingering aura of my power as it flowed through her, focusing on her magical circuits.
It was the typical response to a magi's use of hypnotism, that much I was certain of. If it had been another magi's work I wouldn't have paid it any attention. The only reason that this response was worrying was, well, because I had been the one to cast it by accident.
Still, from everything I could tell nothing else seemed to be wrong with this situation. If Chiho had been a magus or if another magi were to try and undo the hypnotism all it would take was a brief surge of their own prana in order to clear their circuits. The amount of power I had used was probably enough to keep Chiho under my suggestion for around thirty six hours by my best guess, and after that it would wear off on its own naturally.
"She's fine," I announced, only then realizing how close I was to Uzume as I had checked the sleeping girl. The Veiled Sekirei's eyes were darting between me and her Ashikabi, and several long strips of cloth were hovering around me, not quite threatening but not entirely peaceful either. "She should sleep until sometime tomorrow if left alone, but I should be able to wake her up easily if I need to."
"You sure about that, Shirou?" Uzume asked, apparently not quite sure whether or not she should be taking my words at face value of whether she should be more suspicious. I began to nod my certainty when the door to Chiho's room burst open, and the night got just that much more complicated.
Despite the tense situation with Uzume when the newcomer arrived the first thing that went through my mind was just how bad this situation must look. If a nurse, probably in response to the commotion outside, had come to check on a patient only to find that two strangers were in a patient's room unattended, one an unknown man and the other a female dressed in very odd clothes and surrounded by floating fabric, well, I could imagine that their first response would most likely be panic. Since the last thing anyone in this room wanted at the moment was a commotion I had jumped the moment I heard the door slam open on the wall, spinning around as I hastily tried to come up with a perfectly good explanation for why we were here and apparently abducting a defenseless sick girl.
Then I froze. The newcomer was most certainly not a nurse.
"You!" Still kneeling I could make out Uzume's growl, and it was definitely not a pleasant sound. The intruder seemed to realize that too, and even as they began to turn and try to escape from the room my eyes narrowed.
"Moving is prohibited," I hissed, the feeling of my own dark power springing around me. The intruder froze as they were, probably for the first time ever, exposed to the hateful wrath of an incarnated Asura. I still wasn't quite sure how to manage all the little tricks that Miya so loved to spring on me, but I didn't need those right now. All I needed was to stop them from escaping.
The newcomer was female and had pale grey hair, cut short in the back and with long bangs on the side. She was wearing what looked like either a cheongsam or a sleeveless kimono, pale lavender in color and belted with a long thick length of leather rather than an obi. Around her neck and waist were large brocades of paler lavender lace, and she had long sleeves which fastened around her biceps and hung down until they opened and widened at her wrists. On her face was either a birthmark or some form of makeup describing a dot on the center of her forehead, and she wore thick glasses with no rims on their top fastened by a long length of thin chain which drooped to hang around the back of neck.
"Number twenty two, Kochou," I stated, eyes narrowed as I took in the sight of the interloper. Kochou was frozen in the doorway, half turned to try and run but unable to go any further as she was held in place by the animal instinct which told her that maybe if she stood very, very still, then the thing behind me might ignore her. "The only other remaining brain type of the Sekirei Plan. The Sekirei of Higa of the East."
Oh yeah, did I recognize this one. I had a list of dangerous Sekirei, after all, and considering just how much Matsu had contributed to me over the course of the Sekirei Plan I had very little doubt that number twenty two definitely ranked highly on the list of Sekirei to be wary of.
Now, the question was what was I going to do with her?
Here I was, confronted with what I could easily consider to be one of the highest priority targets in the Sekirei Plan. In my opinion Kochou was easily more dangerous than even Karasuba should be considered. Karasuba worked for MBI, after all. The Black Sekirei had guidelines she had to follow, rules set in place by her sponsors in the company. Even if I got the impression that Karasuba might be a little generous in her interpretation of those rules sometimes, she still at least paid them lip service. Kochou on the other hand, the one she served had already proven to be a dangerous individual, one that had in the past employed underhanded and unscrupulous methods of achieving his goals. When those kind of actions were taken on by normal Sekirei, ones meant more for battle, then they could potentially be noticed and countered ahead of time.
Kochou though, if she was being used anything like the way I was making use of Matsu, well, there was no way of knowing just how many plots she might be involved in. Just how many of the blackmails and attacks that Higa had perpetrated had originated with this frozen, shaking Sekirei?
If the situation was even the slightest bit different, then now would be the best opportunity I would probably ever receive to take out a vital component of any of Higa's future plans. However, was it really the time for this kind of action?
Even as my thoughts raced I could already feel the power of one of the other Sekirei that had been guarding Nagayama extinguished. The third Sekirei was most likely in still engaged in combat with either Kazehana or Akitsu, or even both by this point, and while it was likely that it was my flock that would be triumphant, there was no guarantee of that either. Kochou had already been coming to check on Uzume's Ashikabi, so most likely they had already figured out what our target was, and there was a chance that even now reinforcements were on the way, possibly in numbers great enough to be a threat. Moreover, with one Sekirei already terminated MBI was certainly on their way as well. With both of those potential combatants en route, combat was still a possibility but we'd be hampered by the necessity of guarding Chiho, a dangerous proposition if the fight got intense too quickly.
Also, this was a hospital. There were numerous sick and injured people here, and there was no way of knowing if the MBI retrieval squad might in some way inconvenience those bystanders.
"You," Uzume growled again, somehow sounding even more enraged than she had before. I glanced at her, and to my surprised for once the Veiled Sekirei seemed completely unaffected by the mask projection technique. Instead all the cloth that hovered around her were writhing, even I noted with dismay the ones which were wrapped around Chiho. "You bitch…"
It was then that I figured out that maybe Uzume might have a bit of a grudge against the frozen number twenty two. It made sense in a way. If Kochou was one of the brains of Higa's operation than it was possible that the Sekirei might have been involved in some of the less savory operations personally. Judging by the way Uzume was reacting either Kochou had done something noticeably repellent to her in the past or had perhaps just accumulated enough malice over the long term, but it seemed that whatever the case was Uzume was coming to the conclusion that the other Sekirei no longer had any control over her.
If I let this go, then it just might be possible that Chiho would be spending the rest of the trip back to Izumo in even more blood stained bandages, and Uzume might have another regret to add to her long list of shameful secrets.
"Uzume," I snapped, still maintaining the projection as I did so. When the tomboy's eyes darted towards mine, still clouded with rage, only to pause when they took in the sight of my Asura for what seemed like the first time, I continued. "Remember your Ashikabi."
Uzume froze, and the angry writhing of her bolts slowing as she glanced down to the sleeping Chiho in her arms. She hesitated, her eyes trailing back to the still frozen Kochou almost against her will. "Shirou," Uzume began, her voice still angry but noticeably more calm then it had been moments ago. "You don't know what this bitch has done."
"I can guess," I assured the Sekirei, turning back so I could level a narrow eyed glare of my own at the offender. "But priorities first. After we've secured your Ashikabi, then we can hunt down this one."
"Bro," Uzume began, and though I wasn't looking at her I could still hear reluctance in her voice. I decided that if even Uzume was seriously considering even the thought of neglecting the Ashikabi that she obviously adored, than whatever grievance she had with twenty two must be something pretty spectacular. That decided it for me. Uzume had enough regrets to deal with. I could spare her this one for now.
"Don't worry," I assured her. "I'll let her go for now so you can take care of her later." My eyes narrowed further as I fed more power into the mystic construct behind me. "Until then, I'll make sure to leave a message for her Master."
I blinked a moment afterwards, realizing my slip in referring to another Ashikabi. I would have to be more careful with that.
"Right," I heard Uzume mutter before the sound of her taking a deep breath reached my ears. When she spoke again she sounded much more composed. "Let her have it, bro."
The sound of a window being opened followed by the rustling of cloth let me know that I was alone with the still immobile Kochou. The number twenty two did not seem to enjoy this relative privacy.
I only had a few moments before I would have to leave as well. Though I was relatively confident that even if other enemy Sekirei were to arrive that I would be able to detect them in time to avoid ambush it was still never a wise idea to be without a guard when being killed was the simpler of options when compared to having your allies defeated first. Still, it looked like I was once more about to do something over the top in order to make a suitably ominous impression on my captive audience.
"From hence forth, interfering with number ten or her Ashikabi is prohibited," I told the Kochou, beginning to approach her with slow steps. Behind me, I could feel my contract strengthen yet again. It seemed that strong emotions might evoke a response in it. I wondered, could this be the key to finally unlocking the higher levels of its mystery? I made a note to look into it later. "Any action taken against the North is similarly prohibited."
I was only a few paces away from Kochou at this point, and this close I could see that she wasn't completely frozen. She was shaking, small irregular tremors which spasmmed her body in at apparently random intervals. It appeared that without previous experience with Miya's Mask technique like most of Izumo House had then such a strong first manifestation might have negative effects on the subject. I briefly wondered at the possibility of causing the trapped Sekirei an aneurysm.
"The only reason I haven't terminated you is that I want you to pass on a message to your Ashikabi," I continued, leaning forward to put my face close to the trapped Sekirei. "Tell him that demons are real. And that one of them lives in the North. Tell him that if he continues to meddle in my affairs, than those demons will eat him alive."
It was time to cash in on those Asura rumors that Seo had tried to start earlier today. Finally, I let the projection drop. Immediately, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, number twenty two fell to the ground, her legs giving out from underneath her in a heartbeat.
I looked down on her for a moment, meeting her wide eyes as the sound of her frantic panting reached my ears. Then without another word, I turned my back on her, visibly dismissing her. I don't know what the other Sekirei would think when she watched me, supposedly just an Ashikabi, a normal human, exit the room through the same window that Uzume had used.
Hopefully, whatever conclusion she came to would be enough to help motivate her to convince her Ashikabi not to interfere with my business again.
*Scene Break*
It was later, when the four of us plus Chiho were making our way back to Izumo House that Uzume finally spoke again. The Veiled Sekirei hadn't said anything the entire trip back so far, not even when Kazehana and Akitsu rejoined us, the Wind Sekirei grumbling about how Akitsu had finished her opponent before she had. Instead, Uzume seemed focused on just covering as much ground as quick as possible, her Ashikabi still cradled in her arms and her sheets.
"It had bleeding eyes," Uzume said, seemingly out of nowhere. I blinked, taking a second to try and understand her reference before I realized she was talking about the incident back at Chiho's room.
"Oh, yeah," I muttered, remembering just how much Uzume hated the bleeding eyes trick. "Sorry about that," I apologized. I was surprised when Uzume just shook her head.
"From now on," she declared, sounding like she was coming to some sort of momentous conclusion, "whenever I see those bleeding eyes again, I'm going to remember the look on that bitch's face. And then, I'm going to smile."
I took in the sight of Uzume as she began to grin, looking like she was trying her hardest to repress the expression but not succeeding. I suppressed a low whistle. I was beginning to think I really didn't want to know just what Kochou had done to her.
"Glad to have helped," I instead told Uzume.
After that neither of us spoke as we continued to make our way back to Izumo House. Once we got there, it was time to really start working on saving Chiho.