Minato had been on many rides in his life. Roller coasters, droppers and ferris wheels of course, but none were quite as terrifying as hanging over Karasuba's shoulder. The way she held him made him sure she was attempting to crack his pelvis. Of course, he did have a rather tall glimmer of hope following behind him.

She smiled at him, giving off the warmth of her adoration. Kazehana touched his face. A blush crept across her cheeks showing how easily her body reacted to him. She gave him a quick wink before speeding up, walking shoulder to shoulder with her old squadmate.

"You know Miya might murder us once we're inside, right?" No. 3 said.

"What for?" Karasuba replied with slight venom. "We didn't break any of her idiotic rules."

"True," Kazehana rubbed the back of her head, "but we did trash the street a little bit,"

She wasn't wrong. Looking around the street, there were cars toppled and trees knocked over from the sheer amount of wind that exuded from Kazehana. Even the force of Karasuba swinging her sword had smashed parts of the road and broken a few windows. Minato was inwardly shaking, seeing full-scale the destruction these lovely ladies had caused. Worse, his gut told him they'd both been holding back. He thanked whatever God that existed that at least one of his Sekirei would be gentle with him, that she'd rather hold and kiss than crush and bite him.

The Monster stood at the front door of its domain, a hannya mask lingering behind its beastly expression. It scanned the surrounding streets, its expression growing ever more angered the more destruction it saw. The wooden sword was in its hand, a clear crack was created in the weapon at the sheer strength of the grip. Miya stared down at her ultimate rival: Karasuba, who merely grinned at the firstborn Sekirei. Miya moved faster than both Karasuba and Kazehana could perceive and before they knew it, Minato was over Miya's shoulder.

"You two are not allowed back in this Inn until dinner. I suggest getting off this property before I lose my temper." Miya almost snarled at the two Sekirei.

"Miya… Are you trying to seperate me and my pet?" Karasuba's hand wrapped around the hilt of her Nodachi tightly.

"But I just got my hands on him!" Kazehana moaned. "You can't do this Miya; it's too cruel."

Miya snorted and turned her head away from them both. "You both must learn not to fight, now that Minato-san is your Ashikabi. Now go and spend the day together, learn to like each other."

"Why bother?" Karasuba replied nonchalantly.

Miya slammed the door in their faces, particularly Karasuba's. She put Minato feet-first on the ground. Sighing, she cupped his chin and looked him dead in the eye. A terror built in Minato that he had only experienced from his Mother, but this was worse. He was literally shaking.

"Keep Karasuba on a tight leash," commanded the landlady. "Anymore of that type of behaviour and you're on the street." Miya let him go.

"Well what am I supposed to do?!" protested the Ashikabi. "If I try anything, she'll kill me!"

Miya smirked, she spoke just one word.

"Challenge."

She then turned on her heel, leaving poor Minato alone.

Minato let out a sigh. He followed after Miya, whom was walking to the kitchen. The ronin left through the back door and sat down on the step. He pondered Miya's words… Er, word. Could challenging Karasuba work? Or would it only lead to more pain? Minato smiled himself, of course it would work. It was bound to work, now that he had Kazehana. She was always gonna be there for him, just like any Sekirei would be for their Ashikabi… he hoped. Minato leaned back and looked at the sky, hoping this didn't backfire on him.

"Scoot over would ya?"

Minato moved over to make space for the voice. Uzume sat down next to him. He noticed that she was eyeing him like a piece of candy, with a dusting of pink on her cheeks. "Stuff like this happens when you get Single Numbers," she said with a smirk.

"You say that as if you know." Minato replied.

"Well I've been told, by Miya, that the single numbers are pretty eccentric."

"Just the single numbers, huh?" Minato said with a wry yet weary smile.

Her beaming expression was infectious. "I wouldn't say that I'm eccentric! Just a happy Sekirei!"

"Well, you're not wrong," Minato sighed, his jovial expression fading. "This whole situation is gonna kill me: if not Karasuba killing me, then Kazehana's going to get me killed.'

"That won't happen." Minato's brow raised at that, prompting Uzume to continue. "I've known Kazehana for a little while now. She's wanted an Ashikabi for such a long time."

Uzume smiled at the young ronin. "She never really… y'know, said it, even to herself. But she's gonna adore you."

"Even though I winged her forcefully?"

Uzume laughed. "You really calling it that? She was reacting pretty heavily to you."

Minato shrugged. "I don't know, I just feel sorta shitty about it."

Uzume scoffed at the very thought. "Don't. You saved her life, idiot! She's gonna love you for years to come! And guess what?"

"What?"

Uzume grinned. "She'll only be able to fall in love with you even more.

-Kazehana-

There was hardly a time that Kazehana could remember being genuinely stuck somewhere with Karasuba. In fact, the last time she remembered being with Karasuba before she showed up at the inn was when she, Mutsu and herself went to a bar together. Now the two were stuck together by order of their ex-commander, walking down a random street, literally having no idea where to go or what to do. That was, until Karasuba suggested going to a coffee shop. No. 3 would've preferred a bar but it was only the morning, so she supposed coffee was acceptable.

The two strolled through the streets of… ugh, Shinto Teito. Kazehana absolutely detested that name. What gave MBI any right to change the name of a city like Tokyo? She hated them more and more everyday. She could tell that even Karasuba, who was MBI's mad dog for years, had begun to nurse a peeve by the way she looked at that eyesore in the middle the city and those billboards with that bastard Minaka's face plastered all over them.

The people were just as bad. Sheep. Nothing but sheep. They followed everything that MBI told them to do. Every company was owned by MBI so their jobs depended on Minaka's competence (if Kazehana was being honest it more relied on Takami's competence). She couldn't blame the people though: it was human instinct to follow the crowd.

Kazehana stopped next to Karasuba, who gestured to the nice coffee shop. They entered the shop, which luckily lacked much of a line so they were served relatively quickly. Karasuba gave the barista a contemptuous smirk after being handed their coffees. She clearly had the barista's under her thumb.

The two sat in a booth together, staring into each other's faces. Karasuba's was sharp, just like her sword. The way her jaw curved into her chin made it look as though she could kill a man with her face. Her narrow grey eyes looked deep into Kazehana's own charcoal-colored ones.

"This is where I met Minato, right over there." Karasuba pointed over to a table in the corner.

"That the happiest memory for you?" Kazehana said sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised. I always wanted a pet," she replied with a grin. The grin slowly faded back to a face twinged with malice. "But I never wanted to share."

"Well, at least you have to share with someone you know," Kazehana remarked, not being fazed by The Black Sekirei's glare.

"Very true, however I can think of one or two I would much rather share with than you," No.4 said, head in her hand.

"Is that right?" The Wind Sekirei took a sip of her coffee. "Would they happen to be the same one or two that could kick your flat butt?"

"Careful." The stone-faced Karasuba had turned into a snarling creature. Kazehana stared directly into her face, a coy smile on her own. Karasuba stared back, her look of anger slowly fading away to her trademark 'smile'. The tension between the two could be cut with a knife. Everyone in the shop could feel it, and stared at the goddesses sitting in the booth.

However there was one person who wasn't phased in the slightest. "Well well well, isn't this a coincidence."

The single numbers looked to source of the voice and were immediately unnerved; even Karasuba shuddered slightly. The woman standing above them was slender, not quite as slender as Karasuba however. Her hair was grey from over twenty years of putting up with Minaka's shit. She wore beige trousers, a black top which was covered by a white lab coat. She sat down next to Karasuba, giving her a playful jab on the shoulder.

"Looks like you two are getting along well," she said.

"Been a long time Takami-san. How've you been?" Kazehana asked, smiling at her handler.

"It's been hell! Minaka's still a prick, my son failed his college entrance exam twice and my daughter's been trying to come here to visit said useless son!" she ranted.

Karasuba feigned concern. "Oh yes, your life sounds awful."

"Well I guess it's not quite as bad as a death game," the MBI staffer admitted. "I wish that bastard Minaka would give up on this idiotic vision."

"There's no convincing Minaka once his mind's made up. I should know," said Kazehana, surprising Takami.

"Oh? I guess you're over him, huh?" She grinned. "Who's the lucky fella?"

Karasuba laughed. "Yeah Kazehana, who is the lucky fella?"

"I don't know Karasuba, it seems I'll be getting your sloppy seconds." She smirked.

"Wait, you two are sharing an Ashikabi? That poor soul," Takami joked.

Karasuba smirked. "You're right, Takami. There'll be a funeral for poor Minato in weeks."

…

…

…

"WHAT?!" Takami nearly upended the table, she rose so fast.

"Calm down, Takami-san, it's not that bad." Kazehana reasoned.

"'Not that bad'?!" Takami roared. "He can barely get into University and she drags him into this?!"

"If you remember Takami, it's me," Karasuba said irritably.

"That's exactly what I'm worried about! Of all the Sekirei, it had to be you!"

Karasuba's eye twitched. "What are you trying to say, Takami?"

Takami stared directly into Karasuba's eyes, her anger only growing with each second.

"Point taken," Karasuba grumbled.

Takami sighed and sat back down. The scientist eyed No. 3 with narrowed eyes, analysing her face and emotions.

"At least he has you to balance it out."

Kazehana nodded happily. Takami could see in those black eyes that there was a newfound elation in them, like she had found everything she had ever wanted in her life. Well, I'm glad she's happy. It's my fault she was hurt anyway.

Takami visibly tensed at what Karasuba said next.

"I guess you like to keep it in the family, eh Kazehana?"

The Wind Sekirei tilted her head. "Wait, what do you mean?"

Karasuba glanced at Takami, then returned to her partner.

"Don't you know? Minato is Minaka's son," Karasuba said, much to Takami's irritation.

"Oh. That makes sense, they have similar hand structure."

Takami raised an eyebrow. "Should I be impressed, or scared for my son's privacy?"

Kazehana held in a laugh. "I'm not gonna go Yandere on him, that's not me." The thought of what was her, though, made a small giggle slip out.

"And I'm not gonna hurt him…" Karasuba gave her monsterous grin. "Permanently."

Before she could react, Karasuba had a particularly sharp object on Takami's throat

"If you dare hurt my son," Takami growled, "there won't be a being in this world that could save you from me."

-Miya-

Miya was always grateful for help around the Inn, even more so that Minato had taken the helm for most of the housework as an apology for his Sekirei's behavior (both of them). She had even considered paying him for his work. That was before he caused yet another ruckus. She heard the fiery tones of one of her tenants, shouting all kinds of obscenities at the poor boy for merely going through his… her drawers to fold up her clothes. The poor boy was in total shock of the situation, not expecting to screamed at by a woman as unused to her own body as she was. Miya had offered her help of course, but she was a stubborn Sekirei. It was an amusing site to watch as poor Minato was thrown from her room and straight into a wall. Watching him rub his head and curse under his breath was amusing in its own 'Karasuba-like' way. Dinner was going to be fun tonight, she thought.

Miya sighed. It looks like her days of peace were over. Perhaps she would get a good fight out of Karasuba and Kazehana when they inevitably broke the rule of 'no illicit relations.' She eyed the end of the hallway, knowing for a fact that Matsu was either sleeping or watching Minato like a hawk. She prayed for the former to be true; she didn't want Minato to have to deal with three sex-starved Sekirei.

Despite that, and herself, Miya couldn't help but chuckle. 'Matsu would probably get along with Karasuba in the bedroom.'

Miya entered the room of the Sekirei who threw Minato out. She remained spooked for a bit before she calmed down. She rubbed her eyes and sat down on her futon, gesturing for Miya to sit in the armchair on the other side of the room. There was a clear blush draped across her face, Miya was inwardly squealing at how adorable she looked.

"This is a new look for you, Kagari-san." Miya said.

"Please don't, Miya-san. I'm still not used to this. I'm gonna be late on the rent by the way; had to buy a bunch of new clothes."

Miya smiled warmly. "I understand, Kagari-san. I'll just blame your new Ashikabi."

Kagari laughed. "It's not her fault Miya, I'll pay double next month I promise."

Miya shook her head and smiled. "Don't you worry yourself. You've had to buy new clothes, get a new job and now juggle a girlfriend. I'll let you off this one time only, for being such a loyal patron."

Kagari beamed. "For someone so scary, you're too kind sometimes. Thanks Miya." Miya nodded and left Kagari in peace.

No.1 was surprised by Kagari's winging. She assumed that No. 6 would either be the last of the Sekirei winged or would never be winged at all, simply to spite Minaka (now that would've been entertaining). Miya now only housed two unwinged Sekirei, who she assumed would be winged soon, possibly by Minato. She glanced at a plant pot and waved, terrifying person behind the camera.

'Well, there's still lots of work to do.'

Miya made her way to the kitchen, only to be pleasantly surprised to find Minato doing the washing up. She smiled at the boy, whose head was being rubbed by Uzume due to the sizeable lump on it. She chuckled at the long-haired brunette. It seemed there might be another feather in Minato's cap soon.

-Karasuba-

The noise and bustle of the city bothered her, which marked the only good thing about Miya's precious little inn. She at least had decent company now that Takami was gone. That harpy was lucky she wasn't six feet under due to that stunt with the pen. Although that would hurt Minato, and the thought of that irked Karasuba for some unexplainable reason. And besides, she'd probably end in up in a much larger spat with Kazehana. As much as the thought excited her, it would just serve to fuel Miya's annoyance which would lead to her, Kazehana and Minato being homeless.

She looked up to the eyesore that was clearly a testament to Minaka's inadequacies. There were figures standing on the edge of the roof. Though she couldn't see them particularly well, she clearly made out claws on one of the figures: Haihane. Which meant the other figures must have been Benitsubasa and… her. Plus with their Ashikabi, Natsuo.

"You see them too?" Kazehana asked with mild concern. "Think they'll be out to get you?"

"They'll be hit with casualties, so no. The only person in the squad who could put a scratch on me is her," Karasuba snarled.

Kazehana frowned, The Wind Sekirei's eyes focusing in on 'her'. "You don't like Yu-"

"No. No I don't.

"Okay, okay! Well, you've got me for back-up if we're attacked." She smiled. Karasuba looked at her and narrowed her eyes, then smirked and shook her head.

"Stop trying to be nice, Kazehana. I'm as likely to kill you as I am to fuck you."

Kazehana chortled. "Pft, you'd fuck me in a second."

Karasuba eyed her counterpart's chest and grinned.

"I'm finding it hard to resist such a delightful snack." It licked its lips.

Kazehana bit her lip. "I always had a thing for tall girls. And swords."

Karasuba jerked her eyebrows.

"I like you more and more, Kazehana." She jabbed her on the shoulder. "So what do you wanna do? I'm really bored."

Karasuba shrugged. "Wanna go fight some other Sekirei?"

Kazehana shook her head. "You're incorrigible, you know that?"

The Black Sekirei laughed before taking off into the air. Kazehana used her power to push herself off the ground, gaining far more height than No. 4.

"Come on, slowpoke!" jeered The Wind Sekirei.

Karasuba, who was standing atop a building, pushed off the ground and followed behind swiftly, riding Kazehana's wind. She had her sword unsheathed and ready; the bloodlust could be seen from the sidewalk.

The two Sekirei scouted the bustling city of Shinto Teito, eventually touching down atop a four-story building. Kazehana kneeled at the edge and closed her eyes. She could feel the energy emanating from Sekirei all around the city, too many unwinged for her liking.

Kazehana felt an aura from across the city, it was almost as strong as she was, "You feel that? It's strong, and familiar."

Karasuba focused her own senses harder, and her eyes shot wide.

"Mutsu! And he's winged!" The Black Sekirei grinned maliciously. The Wind Sekirei could see her 'friend' trembling in delight.

Karasuba pushed off the building and flew to the next, then the next, then the next, leaving large craters and holes in each one. She knew that Kazehana followed closely behind, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to brutalize her old squadmate.

'There! Here I come, Mutsu~!' Karasuba grinned as she eyed her prey, who was walking in a park with a young boy and a woman.

Karasuba landed on the stone pathway, creating a huge crater and kicking up a smoke cloud. She emerged at a blinding speed and swung an overhead slash at Mutsu. He reacted quick enough, blocking the brutal blow with his scabbard. His eyes widened at the madly grinning face in front of him. Of all people, it was her. He pushed her back, moving back himself and gaining some distance. He took a serious stance with his sword, unsheathing it while pushing his Ashikabi behind him.

"Mikogami, get out of here now! She's dangerous!" Mutsu shouted.

"But what about you, Mutsu?" Mikogami trembled.

"I'll be fine! Now go!" Mikogami ran as fast as his legs could take him.

No. 4 dashed forward and clashed swords, locking up before pulling back. No. 5. Mutsu swung his blade to the left. Karasuba parried the blow and kicked Mutsu in the side. No. 5 recovered quickly and stood his ground, staring Karasuba down and was shocked when her partner landed beside her.

"Kazehana?" The Wind Sekirei waved cordially.

"Hi Mutsu, long time n-" She was cut off by Karasuba, who held her sword out in front of her.

"This is my kill. Stay out of it." She pushed herself forward, landing fierce blows against Mutsu's sword. No. 5 ducked and punched Karasuba in the gut, knocking her back. He put his sword to the ground.

"Haisaten!" The ground around him quaked, shattering the soil and rock. Karasuba jumped from slab to square-cut slab and brought her sword down on Mutsu, who wasn't quick enough to block. A large cut was opened down his chest. He jumped back, dodging the stray debris strewn across the ground.

The Black Sekirei closed in on Mutsu but was halted by a wall of ice. She barely dodged the large icicle that dropped from the sky. Atop it was a buxom woman with short, light brown hair and a blank expression on her face. She wore a white kimono with long sleeves, parted in the middle where it was lined with a black embroidery and showed off most of her chest. There was a chain wrapped around her neck and attached to her shirt which kept it all together. A black sash outlined her midriff. One thing that caught Karasuba and Kazehana off-guard was that her Sekirei mark was in the middle of her forehead.

"She's probably a Discarded Number, maybe something went wrong in the lab," Kazehana spoke. "Let me handle her. Go beat Mutsu." Her partner The Black Sekirei was gone in a flash.

The large icicle smashed, allowing the Discarded Number to land on her feet. She held out her hand and formed many icicles. One thrust of her fingers and they launched toward Kazehana. She managed to dodge most of them but was nicked in the arm. The Wind Sekirei cricked her neck.

"Kaze no Tachi," she muttered.

A sword of wind formed around her arm, she flung her arm forward causing the sword to fly toward the Discarded Number at gale force. Kazehana's opponent couldn't dodge in time and was caught by the blade, opening a large cut in her waist. The Discarded Number lifted her hand and created a wall of spikes behind Kazehana, then created a hail of ice behind herself. The Wind Sekirei created a ball of wind and expanded it around her; as the Discarded Number approached, her ice was blown away by No. 3's wind. She did not falter and delivered a harsh blow to Kazehana's stomach, pushing her back the into the wall of spikes.

'Shit, shit, shit!' she cursed inwardly.

Before she could hit the ice spikes, the wall cracked open and fell to pieces. In the distance she had heard, "Haisaten!" which caused the ground, and subsequently the ice, around her to be destroyed. She looked up and saw Mutsu flying across the sky with Karasuba hot on his trail.

The Black Sekirei flipped around and clashed her sword against The Earth Sekirei's with an overhead swing. Mutsu pushed her back and dashed forward, swinging his sword upward. Karasuba parried the blow and delivered a slash of her own to Mutsu's midsection, he jerked her torso back and headbutted Karasuba.

"Never thought you'd settle for any Ashikabi," Mutsu said.

"Yeah, well, I managed to sweep this one guy off his feet," she said in a bloodthirsty tone. "Now he's my pet."

"And you let Kazehana in on that?".

"Sure; good sparring partner." She grinned.

Mutsu graced her with one of his rare smiles. "Never change, Karasuba." The Earth Sekirei tilted his blade toward her.

The Black Sekirei dashed forward, she swung her blade diagonally. Mutsu parried and countered with a downward slash of his own; Karasuba dodged it. She pushed herself lightly off the ground, flipping over Mutsu and attempting to slash at his shoulder. Mutsu blocked the blow and thrusted the hilt of his sword back, connecting with No. 4 as she landed. Karasuba tripped forward, feeling the strength of the impact ripple through her body. Her senses flared as Mutsu went in for a finishing blow. She back flipped over him and jabbed her sword forward, lightly wounding him in the back.

The Earth Sekirei dashed forward, letting out a harsh yell as the sword exited his body. He could hear Karasuba's harsh footsteps crunch the ground beneath them as she approached, he turned quick and blocked her sword. The two pushed against each other, feeling the ground crack.

"As strong as ever Karasuba," The Earth Sekirei grunted.

"Same to you!" she said through clenched teeth.

The two were startled as they were lifted into the air. Karasuba turned her head to see Kazehana levitating, a cyclone forming around her filled with random debris, rocks and trees sucked into the cacophonous vortex. A huge pillar of ice raised into the air; atop it stood the Discarded Number who was surrounded by a floating ring of hail. Kazehana thrusted out her hands, sending the cyclone howling forth. The Discarded Number mirrored the act, sending her own hail of ice toward The Wind Sekirei. The explosion of power destroyed a large portion of the park. Riding the shockwave, the two Sekirei landed on what little remained of the grass. Right away, The Discarded Number dashed toward No. 3 and threw a punch. Kazehana swayed aside and let it pass by, the deeper parts of her mind wondering why her foe conjured the ice mace around her fist… after swinging. It was when Akitsu leaned into it, and whirled around, that Kazehana saw the second mace around her other hand. Eyes widening, Kazehana dodged and delivered a hard kick to her gut, sending her flying back.

"Ice..." The Discarded Number whispered.

The 'ground' around them froze at her touch, pillars of ice surrounded them and sealed the two Sekirei off in an enclosed arena.

"You're good, not many Sekirei could stand up to me. What's your name?"

The Discarded Number's expression didn't change. "I'm No. 7, Akitsu."

No. 3 smiled at her.

"And I'm No. 3, Kazehana." The wind began to pick up. "I'm sorry we've had to meet like this; I know a boy who'd treat you like a queen."

Akitsu shook her head. "I want my Ashikabi to be Mikogami. I'm happy with him."

"That's good. But if he ever treats you bad, then you come to me, okay?" Kazehana said with a motherly tone.

"Unlikely. I can't leave him, he's the only master I have." Akitsu raised her hand but before she could do anything, a figure burst through the wall of ice and landed next to her. Mutsu stood upright, holding his sword out to a second figure, who landed next to Kazehana.

Karasuba held her sword over her shoulder. "Wow, this has been great!" No. 4 exclaimed with a sadistic glee to her tone.

"Yeah… have to admit… not had a workout like this… in a while." Mutsu was hunched over, huffing and puffing like a steam train.

"You two seem to be having fun," Kazehana remarked.

"Says the one who caused most of the destruction." Akitsu said.

"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't know I was the one who tore the ground apart," No. 3 retorted, giving Mutsu the hairy eyeball

The group was interrupted by a rather whiney voice. "Mutsu! Akitsu! Are you okay?!" Mikogami ran past Kazehana and Karasuba to get to Mutsu and Akitsu.

"Mikogami! I told you to get out of here!" Mutsu whacked him on the head.

"Ow! Let's use your Norito, Mutsu, then we'll win!"

The Earth Sekirei shook his head. "No, we can't win. And I don't think we're gonna be killed yet, right Karasuba?"

The Black Sekirei gave her animalistic grin. "As if I'm gonna put you out this early."

Mikogami breathed a sigh of relief. "Then I believe it's time we part ways." No. 5 grabbed Mikogami and jumped into the air, with Akitsu following closely behind.

"Bye Mutsu! Good seeing you again!" Kazehana shouted to her old friend.

"Well that ended anti-climatically," sighed Karasuba, sheathing her sword.

Kazehana nodded in agreement. "What do you wanna do now?" Her slightly-less-bitter rival merely shrugged in response.

-Minato-

"Oh shut up it's not that bad!"

Minato kept rubbing his head. "You weren't the one thrown against a wall!"

Uzume rolled her eyes. "Don't be such a pussy! You've had your spine crushed and you've been bitten multiple times by that psycho, pains probably a lot worse than a bump on the head."

Minato muttered a lazy retort under his breath.

It was true, however. All the..."gestures" his beloved Karasuba put him through were more painful than some minor ragdolling. If he was being honest, he kinda missed Karasuba. It was strange not having her around to crush and bite him, then having Kazehana to kiss his wounds… he hoped.

Minato felt a vibration in his pocket, pulled his phone out and smiled: it was Yukari. He put his phone to his ear. "Hey there, Sis! How's it going?"

"Better than you, ronin!" Yukari sniggered. "But I've been doing great, school's been good and I made a new friend!"

"That's good. I got a new place and made some new friends myself."

Yukari scoffed. "You got a new place? With all that money you don't have?"

"I got my deposit back." Minato could actually hear Yukari's eyebrows raising.

"How?"

"My Landlord just... gave it back," Minato said sheepishly.

"Wow. I didn't know he was that nice of a guy."

"Yeah it came as a shock to me too. Wonder what made him change his tune."

It felt like the world around him faded away as he chatted with his sister. It hadn't been that long since he'd seen her but Minato had missed the sound of Yukari's voice. Even if she was quite overbearing, he loved her. She was family. And he adored his family. He was brought back into reality by the sound of a whiney voice.

"Minato~! Stop ignoring meeeee!" He yelped as a pair of arms wrapped around his neck, along with a pair deliciously huge, fleshy mounds that pressed on his back.

"C'mon Minato, hang up on her!" Uzume whined. "Aren't I the most important girl in your life?"

"Huh? Who the hell is that, bro?" Yukari's tone was as sharp as a knife.

"Um, that was no one, sis!" he said nervously, before whispering, "Get out of here, Uzume-san!"

"Noooo! I want you to do that thing with your tongue again!" Minato froze up, he could actually feel the steam rising off Yukari's head.

"What did she say?!" Yukari roared.

"N-nothing, sis!" Minato tried to break free from Uzume's grasp, a hilarious sight to the watcher upstairs.

"Come on Minato! Take your pants off!" Never in his life had Minato wanted to die more than this moment.

"I guess I should leave you two alone, huh? Bye bro, have fun," Yukari spat. She hung up, leaving Minato with the dead silence of the ringer.

"What the hell, Uzume-san?!"

No. 10 was clenching her gut laughing. "Y-your face!" She fell to the ground, still crying with laughter.

Rolling his eyes so hard he nearly blinded himself, Minato got up from the step and went back inside. Never had he thought a hot girl's laughter could be so annoying. Rubbing his head, it felt like that laughter was making the lump grow. What really worried him was Karasuba's reaction. In Minato's mind it went something like:

You would dare hurt my pet?! Time to die~!

As much as Minato adored the thought of a girl being that protective of him, it was about as likely as Minaka Hiroto being his father. After a quick stroll through the Inn he found himself in his, or more realistically Karasuba's, room. He took a seat in the armchair and rested his eyes.

-Knock Knock Knock-

Minato jerked upright. "Come in!"

The door slowly creaked open, revealing a tall silver haired women. She wore plain, white, button up shirt and black skinny jeans. Minato noticed that her shirt didn't fit as her breasts made the buttons look like they were about to fly off, despite her breasts not being as large as Uzume's or Kazehana's. She had a stoic face and seemed to eye him up and down.

"Hi, sorry about earlier." She rubbed the back of her head

"Oh no worries! I shouldn't have went through your clothes without your consent anyway." Minato laughed nervously.

"No, you were just trying to be nice. I overreacted."

Minato smiled, got up from his chair and sat on the futon. He gestured for the woman to sit on the chair. The woman crossed her legs as she sat down.

Minato spoke. "I never caught your name."

"Kagari. And you're Sahashi, right?" she asked.

"Yeah, Minato Sahashi."

Kagari looked a little surprised. Of course it was Takami's son. She rolled her eyes: nothing was ever easy for her, was it? Not only did she have to deal with this gender change, but now she'd met every member of Takami's damn family. She leaned back in the chair and sighed.

"So I heard that you've got a monster shadowing you," Kagari smirked.

Minato shivered. "That's an understatement. I'm surprised any of my bones are still intact."

Kagari chuckled. "I've also heard that she's got some competition in the form of an overbearing lover."

"Well at least I have her. I think she'll keep my spine safe. Heh, my Knight in shining Qipao."

"Could be worse; you could be alone with no one."

Minato singgered. "True. At least I have someone to hug at night… even if my bone structure gets weaker every time."

Kagari stared at the boy. She couldn't read him. He wasn't like Minaka, she could read that lunatic like a book. Nor was he like Yukari, again who was quite readable. Minato seemed to be his own person. He was calm and collected. Nothing like the eccentric Minaka, nor did he inherit the hotheadedness of Takami and Yukari. It somewhat frightened Kagari, as he sat there on the futon with that aloof smile. It felt like he was trying to probe her mind for all of its secrets.

"You're a Sekirei too, aren't you?"

Kagari was a little taken aback. "Y-yes. How did you know?"

Minato kept his smile. "Besides the fact that every patron of this Inn is a Sekirei? Uzume spilled the beans this morning."

"I see. Well you don't have to worry about me, I have my Ashikabi." Kagari noticed a shift in Minato's demeanor, almost an edge. "Well that's good. I don't need another women breathing down my neck," Minato joked.

"Don't worry, you're safe from me." Kagari felt a vibration in her pocket, she pulled out her phone. A light blush crept over her face.

"You're Ashikabi?" Minato asked.

"Y-yeah, I have to go Sahashi-san. Can't say no to my Ashikabi." She was gone in a flash.

'Kagari,' thought Minato. What did Karasuba call her? Homura? She seems okay, but who knows what's brewing in that head of hers. I assume she's a single number if Karasuba and Kazehana know her. Never know, she could be a threat…

-Kazehana-

She had never hated Miya more in her life than this very moment. She finally had Minato within her grasp, just to touch him made her feel all gooey inside. But because of Miya, she had destroyed a park and been in a hectic fight. She should cuddling Minato but instead she was cold, her clothes were ripped and she was bleeding. Being honest with herself, she blamed Karasuba as well.

'I guess I can't blame her too much; might never have met him without her,' Kazehana mused.

She eyed Karasuba, who was walking a few steps in front of her. Even from behind she was absolutely gorgeous, yet so different from other Sekirei. Most Sekirei were busty, thick, and had bodies that looked custom-built for sex and romance. But not her, not The Black Sekirei. She was built for combat. For violence and killing. It didn't surprise Kazehana that she was so vicious with Minato. While The Wind Sekirei marveled at how beautiful her new partner was, her mind drifted to her handsome, imperfect, incredible Ashikabi. She knew he wasn't everything she wanted, she was pretty sure even he knew that.

I mean, he's skinny a weakling. I guess that saving grace is that he has balls of steel and he's a cute little smartie pants. Give him some abs and…' She shivered at thought, her breath humid from the heat in her chest. Cooling off, she looked toward Karasuba again. 'I wonder what she thinks of him. She must like him in some respect, probably loves how easily she can dominate him.'

She was broken from her thoughts abruptly by Karasuba's sharp voice.

"We should be heading back soon; it's getting late."

No. 3 grinned. "Oh? D'you miss Minato that much?"

"I miss training with Miya more; think you're pushing your own thoughts onto me," The Black Sekirei smirked.

"Maybe, maybe not. But I got one question for you."

Karasuba raised an eyebrow.

"Race?"

The Black Sekirei grinned, "Fuck yeah!" She was gone, flying through the air at speeds that Kazehana could scarcely see.

'I am not losing!' Kazehana propelled herself off the ground, blowing wind behind her and rocketing forward.

No. 4's eyes widened when she saw Kazehana fly past her. She wasn't sure whether or not her old squadmate either waved or gave her the finger. No more second-gear; time to go all-out. Unfortunately for Karasuba, while the two were evenly matched in lower body strength, Karasuba's powers didn't lend themselves as well to transportation.

Now far, far ahead, Kazehana could see the Inn. She was so close to her Ashikabi, so close to holding him in her arms. She could feel him even from this far away, all she wanted to do was hug him and hold him. And fuck him. But that last one would come later.

The Wind Sekirei touched down outside Izumo Inn and burst through the door, startling the woman behind it.

The Landlady stared at Kazehana before smiling. "He's in his room."

Kazehana sprinted through the inn. The only thing on her mind? Beating Karasuba. She sprinted as fast as her powerful legs could take her, ascending the stairs in two loud leaps. No. 3 nearly pulled Minato's door out of its track wrenching it open, making the poor boy jump out of his skin.

The sight of The Wind Sekirei was a strange one for Minato. She had a deeply red face coupled with heavy breathing. She licked her lips in a very Karasuba-like way. She pounced on him, pulling him into a crushing hug. That sensual valley between her breasts found his face.

"I missed you so much, Minato! Oh you have no idea!"

Minato pushed himself off the lovesick Sekirei. "Just, let me bre-"

He was cut off when Kazehana caught his lips in an abrupt kiss. Her purple wings burst from her back, filling the room with a bright purple light. Kazehana slipped her tongue into Minato's mouth and rolled it around his own. Swapping saliva with Minato was pure bliss to her, and thankfully Karasuba was nowhere in sight. The two separated, and the light died down. Minato smiled at her, causing The Wind Sekirei's heart to flutter.

"I'm glad you're back," he admitted. "It's been getting kind of lonely without you two."

Kazehana looked behind her, assuming that she would see Karasuba in the doorframe.

"I thought she'd be back by now…"

-Karasuba-

Karasuba snarled when she landed on the concrete rooftop with her new companion. She'd practically exploded with anger when she saw her in the first place. The Black Sekirei felt like vomiting at the sound of her voice.

"All that destruction was a bit of a hassle for MBI." A brown haired woman spoke.

"Pft, you think I care? I wanted a fight, I got a fight." Karasuba tightened her grip on her nodachi. "There's gonna be a whole lot more in the future."

"I'm not here to fight you, Karasuba. Without your Ashikabi I'd rip you to pieces. I just want to warn you about collateral damage in the future, 'kay?" She smiled that sickly sweet smile, the one that haunted Karasuba's most flower-filled nightmares. "Bye bye now!"

The woman took off into the air, leaving Karasuba alone on the roof.

No. 4 was shaking like a volatile volcano, the pressure building in every atomic sinew of her body, her blood ready to boil her alive. In a microsecond, all the pressure shunted to her fist; she punched the rooftop, caving in the concrete and leaving a shell-shocked insect to stare at her from below.

"I'm going to murder you one day, Yume."