Well, another resurrection chapter for the lot of you, after yet another computer disaster. Mind you, it was hard to do this, but for you lovely people I buckled down and did it all over again.

This chapter will have a significant break from the flashback-storytelling we are used to, because I doubt the world stops moving whenever someone is telling a story. :P

Mordreek: in my mind, Kazehana played the fool to be underestimated and for amusement. That lady is fucking scary some of the times we see her, and I will be reflecting that throughout the story. After Karasuba and Haihane were so neglected and shunned by theirs sisters for so long, the thought of losing their Ashikabi so soon after getting them was horrific. And we haven't seen Ku because she has been kept out of the 'adult' situations as much as possible by her older siblings. She won't be a big main character for this story simply because of that.

Thank you all other reviewers!

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Sekirei: Guardian of the North

Chapter Thirteen

Transition

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At the purple-haired woman's declaration, there was a series of metallic clicking sounds as Yuri and her companions pulled handguns from God only knows where and aimed at her. Despite their shaking hands and fearful faces, Kazehana could see the determination to protect their friend from her in their every action. That in and of itself earned him a point in her book. They knew just how powerful, how dangerous, she was, yet they were still willing to fight her.

"Now, now, the weapons aren't necessary. I don't mean anyone any harm, at the moment anyway. My measure of your character will decide your fate, Minato Sahashi." Kazehana said with hollow sounding placation, and the weapons didn't waver, though Minato did reply.

"Meaning?" his voice was clipped, though polite enough given the circumstances, and she smiled at him. It was not a warm and kind smile, but cold and calculating, making him shudder slightly and flex his fingers on his sword hilts in response to the malice that the women seemed to be exuding.

"Meaning that I'll not harm you until I decide if you're worthy of my sisters' affections. At which point in time the condition you find yourself may take an abrupt and regrettable turn for the worse. After all, even if your untimely demise were to come about, I could gather my sisters safely and return them to health with the technology of our ship." She promised him, and he noted the information about the ship with interest and catalogued it before moving on to more immediate concerns.

"...you might as well kill me now then. I do not deserve people like your sisters, or their affections." He said finally, lowering his hands back to his sides, blade-tips to the floor and waited for her response, as the trio of young women behind him gasped together.

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WHAM! Minato rolled around on the ground, clutching the top of his brutalized head in agony as the newly-arrived Karasuba spun her sheathed blade back around and to her side from the outstretched position it had been in from its collision with her Ashikabi's head.

"What the hell, Karasuba?" Minato grumbled, getting to his feet, essentially unharmed besides a rapidly disappearing lump at the point of impact and slouching back towards his seat, flopping down in it with a scowl directed towards the Fourth Sekirei.

Electing to not answer right away, and totally ignoring the annoyed and strange looks that she was getting from her sisters and Yukari, the ash-haired swords-mistress strode through the room and sat down on a spare bit of carpet, legs crossed and sword resting across her lap. Haihane, on the other hand, elected to fold her legs under her and lean against the side of the couch, eyes closing blissfully as she hummed in pleasure when her Lord's free hand, the one not occupied with Uzume, came down to stroke her hair softly and affectionately.

"That was a well deserved blow to the head for your idiocy, Minato." Karasuba said bluntly, not looking in the least as if she were disturbed by bludgeoning her Ashikabi across the top of his head. To Minato's chagrin, the rest of the women in the room could be seen nodding or heard humming in agreement, as the unhappy looks shifted from Karasuba to himself.

"I have to agree with Kara-chan. It was stupid of you to say something so ridiculous, Minato. We wouldn't have chosen you as our Ashikabi if you had been unworthy of that honor." Miya said with a frown at her lover, whilst Yukari and Shiina were casting surprised looks in her direction at the affectionate name and lack of anger they would have expected from Miya due to the story thus far. Clearly, something had occurred that they were not yet privy too at this point of the story.

"So it is said now, I clearly didn't feel the same then." Minato said airily, waving a hand in a dismissive gesture, as though to shoo the issue away, and every other pair of eyes in the room narrowed at his wording, which indicated that he still didn't believe it to some degree. "At the time, remember, I had run off because I had hurt Ku-chan, remember? Not exactly great evidence for being worthy of you all, was that?"

There was a long, fairly awkward silence as the women considered how best to respond to that without lying. Obviously, what he did to Ku was wrong, even if they didn't blame him in the least due to how emotionally compromised he was at the time. Still, telling him that it was fine would likely come across simply as obligatory reassurance, but saying nothing would indicate that they agreed with his evaluation of himself, something that they wanted to avoid.

Fortunately, they were saved from responding when Minato's phone rang. Checking the caller ID, he flipped the phone open with a grin, inspiring curiosity from the now-observing women, especially Yukari. This was yet another revelation on top of all of the others she had gotten tonight: her brother had people who would call his cellphone. Friends, in other words.

While most people would be surprised and likely offended on Minato's behalf (he was a nice guy after all, and pretty smart too), the fact of the matter was that Minato was never the most...sociable of individuals. He had spent most of his younger years studying or training with their grandfather, and once he had moved into Tokyo, he had been studying to get into Tokyo U. Constant studying and/or training were not usually conducive to forming lasting or meaningful friendships, being involved in a secret war involving super-powered aliens even less so.

"Hey, Yuri-hime. What is it?" he asked, sounding fairly cheerful, and the room leaned forward unconciously, their focus now on the phone call as Minato's eyes widened in surprise and he leaned forward himself. Simultaneously, Matsu's computer chirped insistently, and she directed her attention to the Sekirei Winging Announcement the MBI servers had just logged. "Well, now that is interesting. You say she introduced herself as Ikki, Sekirei #19? And her companions were Oosumi Orikiho and kaho, Sekirei #87?

"...!...?!"

"Of course I understand, at least you know about the situation beforehand. Unfortunately, this means that you are involved, which means we need to go to ground quickly. You are easy pickings for any of the other Ashikabi in the vicinity right now. Blindfold Oosumi and Kaho, and take them to the new base."

"...!...!...?"

"I understand that they seem like decent people to you, and I am inclined to trust your judgment, but the fact remains that they might be pressured into revealing the hideout's location if captured by an enemy Ashikabi, and they can't tell anyone what they don't know." Minato's voice had a fair bit of calm and patience, but also a note of urgency, as he continued to pass instructions to the person on the other end of the phone. "I'm sending a group of my heavy-hitters to help you get there safely. They will make sure you're not followed. Send some of your people here to get my groups things, as well."

"..."

"Good, see you shortly." He finished the conversation and hung up, putting his head back against the seat with a sigh.

"Who was that, Minato-sama?" Haihane asked, curious, but it was Matsu who answered as her head re-appeared in the ceiling.

"An old yakuza friend of Minato's who just ended up Winging Sekirei #19, Ikki. Looks like things got a whole lot more interesting." The resident pervert said seriously, and Minao nodded in agreement.

"Indeed, and she has another Skirei and Ashikabi who were in her club at the time of the Winging and are seeking an Alliance with her. Unfortunately, that club is in enemy territory, so we have a lot to do in very little time." He began passing out instructions to each person in the room. "I understand you all may be reluctant to leave, especially mid-story, but time is of the essence. Haihane, Karasuba, Homura, Kazehana, Tsukiumi, and Yume. I want you to escort Shiina and Yukari to an address I will provide and escort Yuri and her friends to the new base. Yukari, I hate to send you into danger, but the last time Yuri saw Kazehana she was threatening to kill me. You're the only person I have who can convince her that the girls aren't the very attackers we mean to protect her from."

"Don't worry about her, Minato-sama, or your friend. It would take a great deal more power than any of your enemies can bring to bear to fight us." Haihane said reassuringly, stating what really was the obvious, given that two members of the Discipline Squad and five Single Digits were in the group. Smiling at her and getting a faint blush in return, Minato turned to the rest.

"Matsu, pack up your gear for transport. Hikari, Hibiki, gather up the deactivated Sekirei we've been holding on to, they're coming with us. Uzume, Miya, make sure to pack everything of particular value, whether monetary or sentimental, and get it ready for pickup, then get the house ready to be closed down. We will be back, but I don't want to risk anything important getting taken by looters or rivals. Yuri's people will be here shortly to take delivery of it, and then we head directly for the new base. Everyone understand their jobs?" a round of confirmations and nods answered him, and he clapped his hands with an air of finality. "Excellent. Keep your eyes open and return to me safely."

"Hai, Minato-sama!" the room, sans Yukari, chorused together, bowing respectfully before scattering to their assigned tasks. Shaking his head in slight irritation (really, he did not need the complication of his oldest and best -some would say only- friend getting involved in this shit-show!) before ascending the stairs and padding down the hallway to the room Kuno and Shigi had been living in since their own little "rescue". Knocking on the door, he addressed the occupants.

"Shigi-san? Kuno-san? I need to talk to you about something important..."

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"I told you, I'm not angry with you Ikki-chan, nor are the Three Sisters." Yuri said reassuringly to her very newly acquired Sekirei, who looked close to tears as she watched her agitated Ashikabi pace. The ravenette had joined Kaho and her Ashikabi some days prior, having helped them fight off another, rival Ashikabi when she saw the genuine affection the pair had for each other. After the fight, she had asked if they could stick together until she found her own Ashikabi, hoping for some manner of safety in numbers. Tonight, they had come to this club both to further that search, and to get some relaxation after weeks jumping at shadows. Surrounded by civilians as they were, enemy Ashikabi couldn't attack them without making a scene, something MBI had expressly forbidden. "Was I surprised to find myself an Ashikabi, yes. Did I ever expect to have my own harem, not really. Am I blaming you? Of course not!"

What I don't understand is how you knew all of this already. Is this friend you called an Ashikabi?" Oosumi asked curiously in his soft voice, and Yuri made a noise of confirmation.

"Yes, Minato Sahashi, he…" she started, but gasps from all three of them cut her off, and she stopped in her pacing to raise an eyebrow at them.

"You're friends with the Guardian of the North?" Ikki breathed, in utter awe of her Ashikabi at that knowledge, and Yuri nodded slowly, not sure what was so significant about that.

"I wouldn't know about this 'Guardian of the North' business, but Minato and his sister Yukari have been close friends of mine for many years. He is the one who told me about this Sekirei Plan nonsense and asked for my organization's help in protecting people like you two," this was addressed to Kaho and her Ashikabi. "And helping you hide out until the dust settles. Is it really such a big deal that I know him?"

"A big deal?" Kaho spluttered, Ikki still too in awe of her Ahikabi's apparent connections to speak as of yet. "Do you have no understanding of how powerful The Guardian is?"

"I know he has a bunch of Sekirei, and even a few Ashikabi, loyal to him, but so what?" Yuri was baffled by their continued awe of Minato. Don't get her wrong, she loved him dearly and would do anything for him, but awed hero worship was never exactly a reaction he had engendered from most people.

"He had half of the single digits on his side! Including Miya-onee-sama!" Kaho cried, throwing her hands up in the air at the utterly uncaring attitude this woman seemed to have towards the amount of power she had a phonecall away. "He could level this country if he wanted to! Set himself up as ruler of this planet if he desired it! Doesn't that seem like a big deal to you?!"

"Eh, not really. Minato-kun wouldn't do that." Yuri shrugged in a blasé fashion, and the Three Sisters nodded together.

"Hai, Minato-sama is a good person, he wouldn't do something like that." Hadi commented.

"And besides, a second-year ronin ruling the world?" Ryui grinned, and Shala snickered as she too spoke.

"Kami help us all, it would collapse within the week." The pair then yelped as their older sister laid twin swats on their twin heads, leaving them pouting at her whilst nursing their abused heads. "Sister, what was that for?!"

"You should show more respect for Minato-sama." Hadi huffed, posting her hands on her hips as she frowned down at her younger twin siblings, who stuck their tongues out at her in unison.

"We have plenty of respect for Minato-sama!" Shala snapped back with a frown as she rubbed the small lump on her head.

"Yeah, you know we do, big sis!" Ryui agreed, doing the same as she continued. "But Minato-sama would agree with us, you know he would!"

Hadi opened her mouth to retort, no doubt to tell them in no uncertain terms that Minato could agree all he liked, but they shouldn't say it regardless, thank you very much. The lecture was killed in its infancy however when the dance floor suddenly went dead silent. While the three sisters had recommended clearing the building, Ikki had pointed out that the patrons should stay for the very same reason that her group of three had originally entered the club. Exchanging concerned looks, Yuri saw that a group of women that screamed 'danger' much like Kazehana had all those nights ago had entered the club and were standing in a staggered cluster, blocking hte exit as they looked around the club intently.

"Oh my Maker, that's the Discipline Squad at the front." Ikki squeaked, sounding terrified as she pointed to the ash-haired woman at the front of the group, whose left hand was drumming idly on the hilt of her nodachi, and the silver-haired girl standing next to her with a cloth bag slung over her back. "Karasuba of the Black and Haihane of the Blue."

"...I'm going down there." Yuri said finally, ignoring the immediate protests of her companions. She had a niggling that these were the "heavy-hitters" Minato had said he was sending her way, but if they weren't she could play dumb about the Sekirei plan better alone, without anyone else's expressions to worry about. Her poker face was impeccable. The others', not so much.

Making her way to the lower level, she weaved her way through the mostly still and silent club-goers to stand in front, she stood before the group of Sekirei and folded her arms across her chest, the very image of a somewhat irritated club owner who was trying to be polite.

"Can I help you ladies with anything?" she asked coolly, and the one Ikki had called Karasuba looked at her with a small scowl, one that Yuri had a feeling never really left her face.

"We're looking for some Yuri, kid. Think you can help us out?" the Black Sekirei said, and though Yuri was sure they meant her, she couldn't help herself. Raising an eyebrow and looking them over with a critical eye, she responded.

"Sorry, but this ain't that kind of club. You looking for that kind of thing, you want to go towards the red-light district. We're just a regular dance club, here."

Karasuba's eyebrow twitched in irritation at the flippant response, and her hand tightened around the hilt of her sword as she clearly was contemplating using it on her, and Yuri tensed instinctively in response, only for a familiar voice to sarcastically interject itself into the conversation.

"I think there is plenty of Yuri of all kinds to be found here, my old friend." Yukari Sahashi was revealed as Karasuba released her sword and stepped to the side slightly, allowing the ravenette to pass and approached Yuri, who pulled her in to a tight hug.

"It's good to see you again, Yukari!" Yuri said happily, pulling back and glancing at the balcony, waving for the others to join her. "I didn't expect Minato to send you out like this, if what I have heard about this so-called "Game" is true."

"Minato knew only he or I could convince you that the group with me were allies as opposed to the very enemies we want to protect you from. Minato is busy coordinating his forces, so that left the pick-up to me." The younger Sahashi sibling responded with a faint smile and a shrug, clearly still unused to the situation she found herself in.

"Well, from what Ikki and her friends say, we're not likely to have any trouble. Not with the amount of firepower you have with you." Yuri commented, looking the group over again as the three sisters, Kaho, Oosumi, and Ikki arrived to join them.

"It's good to see you all again, Onee-samas." Ikki said in a soft and nervous tone, and Karasuba frowned at her. Her blade flashed and, before anyone could react, Ikkir was crouched on the floor clutching the lump on her head from where Karasuba had walloped her with her scabberd. "W-What was that for?"

"Stop acting so timid, for Maker's sake! You're a Sekirei, damnit, so straighten up and grow a pair! You can't protect your Ashikabi by getting nervous the moment someone who looks strong comes along!" the Black Sekirei huffed, returning her sheathed weapon to her side again. Noticing everyone staring at her, she huffed and frowned again. "What?"

"I dunno if I should be impressed with how deep and advising you've been tonight, or if I should lecture you for bludgeoning one of our siblings." Homura said finally, and Karasuba huffed again as her cheeks pinkened slightly at the praise in the Sekirei Guardian's eyes and tone.

"Hmph, whatever. Let's just get a move on, damnit." She said gruffly, turning her head away with a swish of her hair and a slightly elevated nose. Exchanging grins, her sisters turned back to Yukari and Yuri, who were now discussing the finer details of the move.

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Minutes later, the group was on the move through the city. Yuri, Yukari, Oosumi, and their Sekirei were walking in plain view, though with some caution, whilst the Northern group followed silently from the shadows and the rooftops, watching for any potential threat. Yukari had questioned why not display their full force and prevent any attack through intimidation, but Yuri had shaken her head and pointed out that having nothing in reserve had more cons then it did benefits.

"So, how did you get mixed up in all of this, Yukari-chan? If I know Minato-kun (which I do), he will have done his damndest to keep you as far away as humanely possible from this little situation we have found ourselves in." Yuri commented after a few minutes of silence as they weaved their way through the streets, which were populated few and far by those who burned the midnight oil at clubs or pubs.

"Eh? Oh, I met Shiina -chan when she was out looking for her sister Kuusano, #108, one of my brother's Sekirei. Whereas Kuu-chan is the Sekirei of Life, she is the Sekirei of Death. Many Sekirei have a polar opposite amongst their sisters, and that polar opposite is their closest sibling." Yukari explained, and Yuri nodded in understanding, though she was curious and somewhat concerned by the fact that Shiina was apparently the Sekirei of Death. "Anyway, I helped her look for a while before taking her home for dinner when she told me she had nowhere to eat or sleep that night. I was carrying a spare blanket over to her as she lay on the spare bed at home, tripped, and lip-planted myself right onto her mouth."

The younger Sahashi shrugged with a wry smile, and Shiina took up the narration for the amused audience. Yuri in particular was noticing parallels between how Yukari and Minato had both met and winged their first Sekirei. Though, Minato had done so deliberately, as opposed to doing so via the kind of accident one would expect from an anime.

"Anyway, after Yukari-sama winged me, I started living with her and we kept looking for Kuu-chan. One night we stayed out too late and Higa's subordinates found us. We ran for it, but they finally cornered us. They were going to kill us, or at least beat us bloody, when Minato-sama's Sekirei arrived and took them all down."

"Speaking of Minato, why did you all call him 'The Guardian of the North'?" Yuri asked, remembering the dramatic-sounding title with a flair of amusement. She doubted Minato had come up with it, given his usual distaste for being overly dramatic. A distaste that he had apparently misplaced when he had decided on his Vigilante name, "Justicar". For all his points about it being an ancient title for someone who dispensed justice wherever and whenever it needed to be done, it was still a pretentious sounding, dramatic, and romanticized name for a teenage boy to give himself. Which is exactly why she had been unsurprised, given that teenage boys had a flair for making pretentious, dramatic, and romanticized nicknames for themselves in games and the like.

"It's a title he was given when he started helping other decent Ashikabi and their Sekirei out of tight situations, whether by protecting them, helping them find someplace to live, or other things along the same vein." Ikki explained softly, her voice carrying a strong hint of reverence within it. "We were planning on heading into his territory the next time we felt we could do so safely, in order to seek protection."

Yuri was about to respond to that when Yukari's phone rang, and she glanced at it before frowning and answering.

"Hai, Onii-chan?" she inquired, and the occupants of the vehicle could hear the muffled voice of Minato coming from the speaker, though they could not discern much of his response. She listened for several long moments, making noises of understanding every so often, before bidding her brother goodbye and hanging up. Seeing the questioning gazes of her companions, she addressed the vehicle at large. "Onii-shan says that everything has been moved from Maisson Izumo over to the new base, and that the northern sector seems clear for now. We should be able to get there without any trouble or disruptions."

"This is feeling entirely too much like a Shounen manga, complete with harems for the protagonists." Yuri grunted in amusement. Seeing the odd looks she was getting from the Sekirei, she expounded on her comment. "Shounen manga are stories written primarily for men, especially teen boys, which involve a lot of fighting, cloak and dagger, and often involves the main character being surrounded by unnaturally sexy women that want him."

The Sekirei blinked, exchanging glances, before shrugging more or less as one. It was, the decided, another one of those human things that they did not quite understand. Then again, they did not quite understand human beings period. Multi-person relationships were hardly rare amongst their race, after all, so the idea of it being some sort of nitch fantasy story market was...odd to them.

The car settled into comfortable silence as they traversed the remainder of the city towards their destination.

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"You really have a thing for clubs, don't you?" Yukari commented dryly as the group got out of the car in front of a large, well-lit complex. Pulsing music could be heard from inside, and the brightly lit sign over the door read The Fallen Angel. "Aren't clubs the most stereotypical front in history?"

"Yes, they are. Which is precisely why it is the best cover. Everyone unpleasant will assume it is a red herring. To obvious, too cliche to actually be our new hideout. Besides which, this club is nothing new, been running for months. The complex which it provides the entrance for, however, is only recently activated. Come with me." Yuri responded, walking into an alcove, subtly hidden from easy view, and pressed an small indent on the base of the angel statue that resided there. A faint sound, one so inocuous a passerby would dismiss it out of hand, echoed as the statue smoothly slid back, revealing a platform large enough for all of them to stand on. A moment later, the platform sank into the ground, taking them with it. The faint sounded resounded once again as the statue slid back into place, looking for all the world as though it had never moved.

"Okay, do you really have any basis for making snide remarks about shounen manga, Yuri? Because this is stereotypically worse than any shounen manga I have ever read." Yukari snorted in amusement as the elevator platform they were standing on settled onto the floor, powerful lights coming to life to reveal a long, black metal hallway with a large, bulkhead like door at the end."Seriously, is your family with the CIA or something?"

"No, CIA is even more prone to cliches. This is just part of the family business, that's all." Yuri said, mostly honest. Her family business wasn't entirely what her old friends thought it was, but only by the scope of the matter. "Regardless, Minato-kun will be up ahead in the operations room."

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Minato walked into what Yuri's schematics had labeled the operations room, stopping at the raised platform in the center of the room. Feeling very like Director Fury from The Avengers, he folded his hands behind his back and looked at the massive curved Sony 4k HDTVs set up all along the railing of the platform, each showing a truly baffling array of information and images he couldn't even begin to grasp.

"Fill me in, Matsu?" he asked somewhat plaintivly. The Sekirei of Wisdom smirked over her shoulder at her Ashikabi before cracking her knuckles and 'plugging' herself into the massive network of screens that filled the room using her unique powers.

"Yukari-sama and her group just entered the building, they're on their way." Her voice echoed from every speaker in the room, though her physical mouth didn't move an inch, as one of the platform's screens flashed over to an image of the group of humans and Sekirei walking down a hallway. "I've brought all of my systems back online, it's just a matter of time before I can start searching again. What do you ask of me, Minato-sama?"

"Direct everyone into a good sized room. We need to finish story time and finish this damn war." Minato said, eyes cold as he turned on his heel and departed.

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And that is a wrap! This chapter had a mind of its own, totalyl deviated from my origional plan. There will be one, maybe to chapters of 'storytime' left before all the flashbacks are over and we will be in 'real time'. Plan to finish the story soon and start on the sequal not long after that!