=========
Late Evening
"Alright, alright," Ichigo mumbled as he walked up to the door, his eyes narrowed as the doorbell rang yet again. The day had been rather uneventful, and needing some air Ichigo had taken the time to go out for a walk alone.
Coming back had him scratching his head, as he had seen Ikki in the front and when he greeted her she had frozen up, stammering greetings as he walked by and when he had asked about her friend.
It was also then that he had passed Uzume when going up to his room. Both had stopped to look at each other, unsure of what to say exactly.
"How'd it go?" she asked.
Ichigo nodded a bit. "Went good, the air was nice."
Uzume nodded at him too. "That's great. Heading to your room?"
"Yeah..."
"Ah..." and here Uzume looked to be at a loss for words.
"It's okay, Uzume."
"Ichigo, I..."
"Look. I just need to think about some things, okay? I'm frustrated, but... but I'm not mad at you, okay?"
"O-okay" she said, looking somewhat relieved but still somewhat apprehensive. "Ichigo, I..."
Ichigo stared at her as she looked like she couldn't figure out what to say. "Uzume, it's alright, okay?" he said as he closed his eyes and brought a hand to his head to scratch it as he moved passed her to his room.
"M-Miya will start on dinner soon, okay?" Uzume then said and Ichigo nodded without turning around as he reached his door. The awkwardness between them was still apparent, leaving Ichigo to continue to ponder his situation and how this seemed so different from the fight that they had had in Karakura.
That was not twenty minutes ago when the doorbell had started ringing and no one had answered.
"Alright, alright," Ichigo mumbled again as he reached to the door, his eyes narrowed at the doorbell ringing again but longer.
Gripping the doorknob he twisted and turned, pulling the door open.
"Yo", came a voice and Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the man at the door while ignoring the sounds of apologies being made of to the side.
The man in turned raised an eyebrow as well and gave a grin and Ichigo peered closer. The man was his height with black scruffy hair and wore a brown coat over a t-shirt and blue jeans. Around his neck hung a single dog tag.
Putting his raised hand back into his coat pocket the man tilted his head and closed his eyes. "You must be a new tenant, nice to meet ya". And with that, still with his eyes closed he then stepped inside and walked passed Ichigo.
Ichigo continued to look forward and his eye twitched and pointedly ignored a set of gasps before he turned around.
"I'll just let Miya know I'm here," the man said as he took off his jacket, revealing a sleeveless t-shirt and threw it up to the coathanger.
=========
Maison Izumo.
The sun hung low in the twilight sky over Maizon Izumo. The last vestiges of the day were being cleared out to welcome in the night, and the end of another day at the lively boarding house. There was an air of tranquility that blessed the surrounding land of Izumo as the birds outside sang their final songs of the day. The slight hussle of nearby neighbors and passerbys going home from work continued to shuffle about the area. All unconsciously content with the peace and serenity the land provided them.
That peaceful tranquility would then broken by a body flying out the door.
"AAAAAAAAHH!"
-THUD-
=========
Ichigo made his way back to the kitchen, hands in pockets while ignoring the new pounding that came from the front door.
"Why Kurosaki-san, I thought you went to see who was at the front door?" Miya said as she came towards him.
He shrugged as he looked at her. "Eh, no one important," Ichigo mumbled.
And soon a muffled voice could be heard as well. "Miiiiyaaa".
Ichigo blinked as Miya gave the door a slight glare. "Ara, Kurosaki-san. I do believe you are correct. Trash is not important after all."
"Trash...?" Ichigo asked, slightly surprised at Miya's behavior. And the knocking and moaning continued. "Uh..." Ichigo paused. "Do... do you know this guy Miya-san?"
"Unfortunately I do, Kurosaki-san", Miya said, giving a rueful shake of her head before moving towards the door.
"So it's ok to let him in now or something?"
She turned back to him, frowning. "Trash is trash, Kurosaki-san. But I imagine he has brought some young ones who do not deserve such treatment."
=========
"So", Seo said after taking another bite of his riceball. "You the new guy?"
"I..." Ichigo paused as Seo continued to wolf down riceball after rice ball. "I... guess."
Ichigo glanced up to see the two oddly dressed and oddly familiar girls standing behind Seo, one of which was glaring at him. Where had he seen them...
"You guess?" Seo barked suddenly, bringing the former shinigami's attention to him. "What? You visitin' or you live here, my man?"
"I live here now, yes." Ichigo answered bluntly.
"There! Y'see?" Seo asked as he gave a sunny grin. "That wasn't so hard was it?"
"Right..." Ichigo muttered. "So uh... how do you and Miya-san...?"
Miya answered. "He was a friend of my late husband."
"Really?" Ichigo blinked at the confession. "So uh... does that mean...?" He paused, looking at the man who was still stuffing his face with rice balls and shook his head. 'No way,' he thought. 'I'm probably just jumping to conclusions here.'
"Yeah,", Seo said as he smacked his fingers after stuffing his face. "I was with MBI". Ichigo blinked as Seo then gave him a sly look. Ichigo then glared as Seo then grinned at him. "Or was I-::SMACK:: OW!" he shouted as he began rubbing his head and looking up a Miya.
"Oh my, I do apologize," the landlady said, her arm outstretched. "My hand must have slipped."
"Miiiiiyaaaaa~," he whined as Ichigo blinked anew as he stared at the two of them.
"Kurosaki-san?" Miya then said as she looked at Ichigo. "Will you be okay if I left you alone with this trash? He's obviously come here for a reason so I may as well gather what he needs so he can be on his way. Isn't that right girls?"
She said as she then looked up to the two other ladies in the room.
"Y-yes," one of the girls replied as she moved forward to follow Miya before pausing to turn around. "Hikari?" she prodded.
The girl in question, Hikari, was busy openly glaring at the orange haired boy. Hikari's prodding alerted the boy to this and he in turn glared back. Seo glanced between the two before closing his eyes and smirked. After about a moment Hikari broke from the staring contest and walked up to her sister, hmphing at Ichigo as she walked past him and the two began to follow the landlady out of the room.
"The hell is her problem?" Ichigo grumbled as he turned his head back to the other guy who was smirking at him. "What?"
"Sorry 'bout earlier 'n all, but that's Miya for you. The name's Seo, by the way."
"Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Hikari, c'mon" Hibiki whispered as she saw her sister begin to slow down again as she heard Ichigo speak.
"I- I- I just can't..." Hikari's eye twitched as Miya turned around, a perplexed look on her face.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, no there isn't, Asama-san" Hibiki replied respectfully, elbowing her sister lightly.
"No-nothing at all" Hikari growled out as she stiffly resumed herself. They made their way towards the kitchen and were about to go through it to the storage area when a door opened nearby.
"Oro?" came a bleary voice. "What's going on here Miya-san?"
"Nothing, nothing, Ikki-san" Miya said, softly waving her hand at the girl. "We're just on our way to get some rice for their useless Ashikabi".
"Useless ashikabi?" Ikki blinked, tiredly scratching her head. "So these two aren't Ichigo-sama's either?"
Hikari began mumbling and Hibiki softly elbowed her again.
Ikki's eyes widened slightly at their actions, her hair scratching slowing down just a bit. "Hey... don't I know you from somewhere?"
Hikari shrugged and Hibiki looked thoughtful before answering in the negative.
"No... no I'm sure I know you two from somewhere..." she mumbled. "Where was it? I mean you two are Sekirei right?"
Both girls stiffened and Hibiki turned to scrutinize her a bit more.
"Yeah, problem with that"?
"N-no..." Ikki muttered. "It's just... why do I feel like I know you two?" she more or less asked herself. "Did we meet back at MBI?"
"No, can't say that we did" Hibiki answered as Hikari brought a hand to her chin and her eyes narrowed again.
"Did we meet in the street or something?" Ikki continued, mirroring Hikari's stance.
"You do seem kinda familiar.." Hikari mumbled out, now leaning towards Ikki as if it would help her figure this girl out.
"I know right?" Ikki nodded leaning forward as well. "I mean, I'd think I'd recognize silly getups like that right off the bat. Maybe I'm more hurt than I thought..."
Miya blinked while the conversation had stalled.
"Ladies, why don't we take it to-"
"Wait a sec..." Ikki interrupted. "What are your numbers?"
"Eleven" Hikari answered.
"Twelve" Hibiki spoke.
"Eleven and Twelve eh?" Ikki muttered. "And I just noticed you two look a lot alike also..."
"We're twins..."
"Twins?" Ikki questioned. "So you are. How'd I miss-" She cut herself off, her jaw dropping as she finally got enough hints.
Yes even Ikki can add 2 + 2 and = 4 once given enough info...
Her hand left her chin, and pointed shakily at the duo before her. "It's you..."
"Us?" Both responded at the same time.
In the dining area both Seo and Ichigo had leaned in to watch, having heard everything that was going on so far.
"You're the ones..." Ikki continued to whisper in stunned amazement.
Both blinked at her.
"I can't believe this..." Ikki continued to whisper. "Is this a boon or a test? The ones Nanaha-chan and I have been striving to defeat are here before me..." She shook her head and looked at the twins, her eyes blazing with determination. "This is my chance!"
She smirked and pointed at the twins, "I hope you two are ready! Because your day of reckoning has finally arrived!"
"Huh?" Both had stared back at her, wide-eyed.
"Your days of terrorizing and harassing innocent Sekirei are over! I, as your sole judge and prosecutor, find you guilty of dirty tricks and all sorts of not nice stuff! And I sentence you to defeat by my hand!"
"You what?" Hikari growled dangerously as she balled a fist and took a step foward.
As Ikki was about to continue a hand was rested on her shoulder.
"Ladies" Miya said with a smile and closed eyes. "As I was saying we can continue this in the storage room. Come, you can help us" she said as she moved and Ikki yelped as she was pulled along, leaving both twins to blink in confusion before Hibiki quickly followed.
Hikari just stewed for a moment, seemingly trying to grind a hole in the floor with her shoe before huffing and following as well.
Seo watched it all with a grin and laughed. Before he could say anything both men turned to the sounds of approaching footsteps.
"What the hell is...?" both turned to find Uzume in the hallway come to a halt as she saw who had come in. "Oh, its you," she said as her face scrunched up as if she had smelled a bad order.
Seo grinned and lifted a hand. "Hey Uzume."
Ichigo blinked as he saw his Sekirei addressed so familiarly. She rolled her eyes and walked the rest of the way up to stand a few feel in front of him and put her right hand to her hip as she glowered down at him. "Don't 'hey me' buster. Do you know what your girls pretty much put me through?" she said as she got straight to the point.
"Sorry 'bout that," Seo shrugged as he grinned at the irritated Sekirei. "But you know how my girls are sometimes. 'Sides... It wasn't all bad was it?
"That's beside the point," Uzume grumbled as she took her seat beside her Ashikabi. She folded her arms irritably as Ichigo gave her a side glance. "You really need to get your girls under control before some lynch mob comes for 'em or somethin'."
Ichigo continued to look at Uzume, who was staring hard eyes at the man in front of them. This was different...
"I would if I could, sweetheart, but you know the drill," Seo responded nonchalantly while Ichigo's eyes narrowed at how he referred to her. "'Sides, you know how strong my girls are."
"Oh, don't I know it," Uzume replied, drawling out the 'oh' as she rolled her eyes and head at that and at the memories.
"Hey, look on the bright side, at least you're still here and..." he trailed off as he turned to look at Ichigo and then turned back to Uzume with a large grin on his face. "So... he's yours?"
She then gave him a wry smile and leaned over to Ichigo but paused from laying her head on his shoulders as she could feel him tense slightly but never changed her expression as she kept her eyes locked on Seo's. "Whatever could have given it away?" she said airily.
"Oh I dunno," Seo sighed dramatically as his grin grew before holding his arms out a bit. "Could be how you seem to hover around him like a hawk."
"You think?" Uzume asked with feigned interest, causing her Ashikabi to give her another odd sideways glance.
"Well, there's also that cute little twinkle in your eye when you look at him." Seo pressed onwards.
'What. The. Hell...?' Ichigo thought, beginning to frown now at the way the two were talking to each other.
"Oh?" Uzume turned to Ichigo, a curious look on her face. "Ne, Ichigo... " she said, not knowing she had cut into his thoughts. "Are my eyes twinkling right now?"
"Not that I can see." Ichigo grunted out.
"Oh hooohh~," Seo chimed, leaning back bit. "Trouble in paradise, I take it?"
"No," Ichigo snorted as he turned away from the his Sekirei and gave an irritated glare at the older man. "Not that it's any of your business is it?"
"Oh, maaannn," Seo mock whined and put a hand to his face, giving a theatrical lean back before coming down to rest his arms on the table and leaned a bit forward. "You could have done sooo much better Uzume."
Ichigo's frown deepened as Uzume folded her arms over her chest, "Oh? Like who?"
Seo blinked and stayed in his posture, resting his weight on his arms on the table and tilted his head at her.
Ichigo grit his teeth, knowing exactly what was being implied.
Uzume blinked at Seo's action, and then her eyebrow rose as she read the gesture. "You don't mean..."
"You betcha, sweetie," Seo answered and pulled himself back to sit up straight with his arms held akimbo and gave a rather hammy smile.
"Well there's an interesting thought," Uzume nodded. "You really think you'd be man enough for a girl like me?"
"I'm already man enough for two, what's one more? 'Sides, despite why I have my girls do what they do we've known each for quite a long time. We'd've been so good, and the number sequence works out great as well," he said as he returned to his posture of resting himself on the table and leaning forward.
"Well, not for nothin' but your girls don't exactly like to share if you know what I mean," Uzume countered.
"Oh, you're right about now, but had things worked out then at the beginning..." he trailed off, his eyes closing and his smile becoming a bit more akin to wistful.
"Yeah, that would've been an interesting time I'm sure," Uzume nodded before turning to her Ashikabi with a grin. "But I'm happy with what I got. So what-if's can stay just that."
Seo then gave off a theatrical sigh of disappointment. "Well, it's your loss there, Uzume" With that, he again pulled back to sit in a more or less relaxed posture and watched the two, raising an eyebrow while shaking his head softly at the Sekirei's Ashikabi's expression.
"So, you're here for...?"
"Oh, you know me. Just here for the usual and to say hi to Miya."
"So same old, same old." Uzume sighed with her eyes closed, waving her hand a few times before returning her eyes on Seo. "Are you sure that's all?"
"Well," Seo said will giving a small shrug and stretched his neck. "I had heard there was an Ashikabi under Miya's roof and wanted to check up on them as well as check up on one other little matter".
"Oh?" Uzume 's eyebrow rose. "Never would've pegged you as someone who'd scope out the other Ashikabi."
"And you'd be right beautiful," Seo confirmed. "But... from what I heard about him... I kinda thought it bore investigation y'know? See what he's made of. And maybe entice an old friend back to my side," Seo said and grinned at her.
At this Ichigo folded his arms in front of him and tilted his head at the man, his hands beginning to dig into his arms.
Snorting, Uzume then turned to her side to face Ichigo but kept her gaze on Seo as she moved herself closer to her Ashikabi. Placing both her hands on his left shoulder she leaned into him slightly, his left bicep only partially being swallowed up into her cleavage as she then proceeded to stick her tongue out at Seo. "Sorry, but I happen to like the side I'm on now." She was about to lean back to sit back down when he shuffled underneath her and then felt a strong warm hand placed at the small of her back and gasped slightly, just suppressing a shudder as that warm hand touched bare skin due to her shirt riding up a bit.
Seo raised an eyebrow as the young man sitting across from giving him such a glare that he'd have probably burned through him and out through the backyard area as he pulled Uzume a little closer. "Something you want to say, friend?" Seo asked, a smirk growing on his face.
Uzume wasn't quite able to suppress the shudder as Ichigo kept eye contact with Seo and then growled before replying, "Nothing that needs saying."
Seo let out a chuckle putting up his hands in a warding gesture, "Fair enough." As Seo was about to open his mouth Miya suddenly came by out of the kitchen. "Hey Mi-", Seo called out as Miya walked by without looking at him. "-ya... Hm," he then huffed out as he watched her walk towards the front while both Uzume and Ichigo followed his gaze and the Landlady.
Ichigo and Uzume both leaned forward, mirroring each others movements as they tried to see what was going on without having to stand up. Both blinked as they heard a few voices along with Miya's accompanied by the sounds of the door shutting. Ichigo raised an eyebrow as the other tenant of Izumo and his two Sekirei slowly huffed his way towards them on his way to the kitchen, not looking or noticing either of them at the table. Though one could say it
was rude, it was tempered by the fact that the man was overly burdened by two large bags of rice that he held on his back.
"Yo!" Seo then called out. Minato paused and turned to the voice, not quite recognizing it before suddenly double-taking. "Hi there young man," Seo then said grinning as Minato's mouth dropped before the shock and weight of the rice bags he was carring caused him to fall backward.
"S-Seo-san?!" Minato gasped out, pointing a shaky finger at the elder Ashikabi. "What're you doing here?!"
"Hey there. Why so surprised?" Seo responded non-chalantly.
"W-why wouldn't I be surprised?" Minato retorted. "How do you even know where I live?!"
"Oh no big deal really," Seo shrugged, smirking at the younger man. "Just a case of a bit of good ole' detective work and familiarity helping me out."
"De-detective work?" Minato repeated as he started to stand up and gather up the fallen rice bags.
"Familiarity?" Ichigo questioned with a raised eye and glancing at Uzume, who shrugged her shoulders at him.
"Something like that," Seo admitted, a low chuckle coming from his lips. "Mostly it was that meal ya shared with me. I'd never be able to forget the taste of Miya's cooking even if I wanted to."
"Meal? You mean that lunch I shared with you?" Minato asked almost a bit awed as he blinked a couple times.
"I just said that didn't I kid?" Seo asked with a slight sarcastic tone. "C'mon kid, try to keep up here. I'm here for you after all."
"Why him?" Ichigo then asked, not noticing the look Minato gave him, as if realizing he and Uzume had been there this whole time.
"Just to check up on that Sekirei he winged," Seo shrugged. "The kid interested me," He smirked at Ichigo, causing the former shinigami to frown at him. "Kinda like you do man."
It was then that something caught the corner of Seo's eyes and he turned to the now open shouji door that lead to the backyard and a tiny figure barely had her head peaked inside, glancing at both himself and somebody else and seemingly either glaring and then quivering. "Looks like the kid's ok physically," Seo muttered. He turned back to Minato and asked, "I'm assuming you winged her right?"
Minato wordlessly nodded, not noticing the young Sekirei's state. Seo then turned back to see Kuu still semi-hiding by the door. "Hey, Green Girl, c'mere!"
Kuu's eyes then widened before being cast down as she shivered and moved further out of site, unknowing that they could see her outline from the shouji screen.
"Oi," Seo called out again before an eye twitched as the girl didn't move. "What's this, kid? Ain't gonna come say thank you to your kind and responsible Onii-san who so graciously he-GAHURK!"
Uzume and Minato gaped while Miya blinked, her hand and ladle in mid motion ready to be thrown as Seo suddenly went flying out into the courtyard while Ichigo seemed to hover in mid-air and came down from his spin kick. 'When... when did he..?!' Thought both Uzume and Minato at the same time with Uzume quickly looking back and forth from where Ichigo had just been sitting a second again to where he landed to where Seo had flown and bounced off to.
"YOU'RE SCARING HER YOU IDIOT!" Ichigo yelled out before wincing and then scowling as he turned and saw the young girl flinch and hide again. "And so am I apparently," he muttered under his breath. Ichigo simply let off a sigh as he re-took his seat, blinking at the stare Uzume was giving him. "What?"
"W-wow, Ichigo. I didn't even see you move." Uzume answered,
Ichigo blinked, not quite sure how to respond to that. To be quite honest, it almost felt like decking his father. He was about to say something when he noticed Uzume suddenly recoiling.
"My, my Kurosaki-kun" Miya said to his still turned back a bit of a dark aura beginning to flare up, "have we not forgotten that there is no violence in Maison Izumo?"
Ichigo turned to see what had caused Uzume to act like that but by the time he saw Miya behind him whatever malevolence that had begun to flare up suddenly winked away, leaving the landlady standing there with the ladle end pressed against her cheek, her head tilted slightly as she seemed to be in thought. "However", she started, "Since it was teaching that trash a lesson I'll let it slide this time".
Ichigo blinked, not quite sure what to make about it before noticing that the other occupants in the room wore similar expressions to what he saw Uzume have. "Did I miss something here?" Ichigo asked.
Miya blinked, looking at Ichigo almost confused before closing her eyes once more. "Miss what?"
"I dunno why, but it feel like I'm missing something here," Ichigo shrugged. "Aw well, guess it's nothing."
Ichigo put his hand on the floor and began to stand up before stopping in mid-motion, eyes widening. 'What did he say!?'
-=-=-
'Ain't gonna come say thank you to your kind and responsible Onii-san who so graciously he-'
-=-=-
Ichigo's mind worked furiously. 'He's talking about the kid. Didn't Minato say something about-'
-=-=-
"The one who helped me save Kuu yesterday", he responded.
-=-=-
His eyes narrowed at the other bit of information that he said.
-=-=-
"An-anyone with the power of an Ashikabi can wing any Sekirei whether they want to or not"
-=-=-
His head suddenely and sharply turned back to the yard, seeing Seo shaking his head as he got into a sitting position. 'So he's the one...' Ichigo thought.
"-saki-san?" he heard a voice say.
"Ichigo?"
He blinked, turning to his side to see Uzume next to him concerned.
"What is it Uzume?" Ichigo sighed.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Of course I'm fine," Ichigo grumbled. "Why wouldn't I be? Just thinkin' is all."
"So yeah, you top heavy bimbos best watch out! When my sis is better you evil twins are going down!"
Uzume and the rest blinked as several, or rather, one voice began to drift their way.
"No more sneak attacks, no more cowardly double teams, no more cheating overpowering moves, you girls are D-O-N-E!"
Ichigo blinked to see the two girls that came with Seo come into view with Ikki, who had been walking backwards carrying a rice bag with her, similar if not identical to the one that Minato dropped a few moments ago. As the twins finally came into he noticed that they too were carrying a bag each.
"Yeah and we're gonna be standin' over you two losers, arm in arm with Ichigo-sama as you lay there all beat up and embarrassed! Just you watch!" Ikki continued to crow.
Hibiki's eye continued to twitch as they finally came to a stop in the dining room and turned to glare once more at the orange haired punk and tune out the annoying Sekirei that just wouldn't shut up. She also ignored the long suffering sigh that she knew her sister let off. It was then that she blinked as she noticed how everyone was positioned and then turned to see her Ashikabi out in the backyard getting into a sitting position. "What the hell happened to you Seo?" she asked as Seo rubbed his jaw slightly.
Seo sat silent, brining his hand up to his jaw and rubbing it. He head was tilted downwards and his shaggy hair obscuring his eyes. It wasn't too long before he lifted his head, eyes sharp and narrowed as he glared back at Ichigo, his hand still rubbing his jaw.
Ichigo glared right back him.
Hikari shifted with the bag in her hands, wondering if she'd get a chance after all.
Finally, Seo stood up and moved his lower jaw around and stretched his neck a few times before resuming his staredown with the spiky haired man before dripping it and giving him a large grin. "Not bad guy," he said and gave a thumbs up motion. "That's a hell of a kick you got there." The dining rooms occupants' eyes widened as Seo put his hands into his pockets and walked back inside the inn.
"Hey kid," he said, looking at Minato now who was just stepping inside too. "Just wanted to check up on how the Green Girl was doing," turning to see where she was before rolling his eyes to see that she was now back outside and peeking her head in to glare back at him.
"As well as other things," Miya chimed in, causing Hibiki to sigh once more.
"Not gonna deny that now," Seo chuckled, shrugging indifferently at Miya's accusations as he made his way to the front. "I was hoping to get a nice homecooked meal outta this check up. But..." his gaze turned back to Ichigo, a strange glint in his eyes. "Here you go and give me another interesting surprise Miya."
Miya smiled pleasantly at Seo, "Oh? By whatever do you mean?"
Seo snorted at Miya's innocent tone, "You know what I mean. You're trying to keep the two most interesting Ashikabi in this game all to yourself."
"What's that mean?" Ichigo chimed in suddenly, bringing Seo's attention solely back to him.
"Jus' that you're one to keep an eye on, man" he said shrugging as he reached the front door before turning to see his girls behind all the others with the rice bags in their arms. "We're outta here!"
At his call the twins began to march up towards Seo though before he could blink Ikki also rushed up to him with another bag of rice in her arms. "Here ya go", she said as she dropped the bag in his arms, and he grunted as his knees almost buckled at the unexpected weight as he unconsciously brought his arms up to catch it.
That done the Sekirei turned to hop back, humming a happy little tune.
"Uh, yeah, thanks... I think." Shrugging, Seo then began to turn.
"Seo!"
Seo stopped, turning to see Minato walk up to him.
"Th-thank you for helping Kuu-chan," he said as he bowed lightly. "I.. I just really wanted to let you know that."
Seo's lips thinned and then moved upwards as his eyes began to look back and forth before his head began moving around as well, giving the impression of giving a great deal of thought to something.
"Hold up," another voice called out and Seo turned his head to the new speaker.
"I got some questions for you..." Ichigo said as he stepped outside too.
Seo grinned at the former shinigami, "What'dya want to know?"
=========
Late Evening
"Alright, alright," Ichigo mumbled as he walked up to the door, his eyes narrowed as the doorbell rang yet again. The day had been rather uneventful, and needing some air Ichigo had taken the time to go out for a walk alone.
Coming back had him scratching his head, as he had seen Ikki in the front and when he greeted her she had frozen up, stammering greetings as he walked by and when he had asked about her friend.
It was also then that he had passed Uzume when going up to his room. Both had stopped to look at each other, unsure of what to say exactly.
"How'd it go?" she asked.
Ichigo nodded a bit. "Went good, the air was nice."
Uzume nodded at him too. "That's great. Heading to your room?"
"Yeah..."
"Ah..." and here Uzume looked to be at a loss for words.
"It's okay, Uzume."
"Ichigo, I..."
"Look. I just need to think about some things, okay? I'm frustrated, but... but I'm not mad at you, okay?"
"O-okay" she said, looking somewhat relieved but still somewhat apprehensive. "Ichigo, I..."
Ichigo stared at her as she looked like she couldn't figure out what to say. "Uzume, it's alright, okay?" he said as he closed his eyes and brought a hand to his head to scratch it as he moved passed her to his room.
"M-Miya will start on dinner soon, okay?" Uzume then said and Ichigo nodded without turning around as he reached his door. The awkwardness between them was still apparent, leaving Ichigo to continue to ponder his situation and how this seemed so different from the fight that they had had in Karakura.
That was not twenty minutes ago when the doorbell had started ringing and no one had answered.
"Alright, alright," Ichigo mumbled again as he reached to the door, his eyes narrowed at the doorbell ringing again but longer.
Gripping the doorknob he twisted and turned, pulling the door open.
"Yo", came a voice and Ichigo raised an eyebrow at the man at the door while ignoring the sounds of apologies being made of to the side.
The man in turned raised an eyebrow as well and gave a grin and Ichigo peered closer. The man was his height with black scruffy hair and wore a brown coat over a t-shirt and blue jeans. Around his neck hung a single dog tag.
Putting his raised hand back into his coat pocket the man tilted his head and closed his eyes. "You must be a new tenant, nice to meet ya". And with that, still with his eyes closed he then stepped inside and walked passed Ichigo.
Ichigo continued to look forward and his eye twitched and pointedly ignored a set of gasps before he turned around.
"I'll just let Miya know I'm here," the man said as he took off his jacket, revealing a sleeveless t-shirt and threw it up to the coathanger.
=========
Maison Izumo.
The sun hung low in the twilight sky over Maizon Izumo. The last vestiges of the day were being cleared out to welcome in the night, and the end of another day at the lively boarding house. There was an air of tranquility that blessed the surrounding land of Izumo as the birds outside sang their final songs of the day. The slight hussle of nearby neighbors and passerbys going home from work continued to shuffle about the area. All unconsciously content with the peace and serenity the land provided them.
That peaceful tranquility would then broken by a body flying out the door.
"AAAAAAAAHH!"
-THUD-
=========
Ichigo made his way back to the kitchen, hands in pockets while ignoring the new pounding that came from the front door.
"Why Kurosaki-san, I thought you went to see who was at the front door?" Miya said as she came towards him.
He shrugged as he looked at her. "Eh, no one important," Ichigo mumbled.
And soon a muffled voice could be heard as well. "Miiiiyaaa".
Ichigo blinked as Miya gave the door a slight glare. "Ara, Kurosaki-san. I do believe you are correct. Trash is not important after all."
"Trash...?" Ichigo asked, slightly surprised at Miya's behavior. And the knocking and moaning continued. "Uh..." Ichigo paused. "Do... do you know this guy Miya-san?"
"Unfortunately I do, Kurosaki-san", Miya said, giving a rueful shake of her head before moving towards the door.
"So it's ok to let him in now or something?"
She turned back to him, frowning. "Trash is trash, Kurosaki-san. But I imagine he has brought some young ones who do not deserve such treatment."
=========
"So", Seo said after taking another bite of his riceball. "You the new guy?"
"I..." Ichigo paused as Seo continued to wolf down riceball after rice ball. "I... guess."
Ichigo glanced up to see the two oddly dressed and oddly familiar girls standing behind Seo, one of which was glaring at him. Where had he seen them...
"You guess?" Seo barked suddenly, bringing the former shinigami's attention to him. "What? You visitin' or you live here, my man?"
"I live here now, yes." Ichigo answered bluntly.
"There! Y'see?" Seo asked as he gave a sunny grin. "That wasn't so hard was it?"
"Right..." Ichigo muttered. "So uh... how do you and Miya-san...?"
Miya answered. "He was a friend of my late husband."
"Really?" Ichigo blinked at the confession. "So uh... does that mean...?" He paused, looking at the man who was still stuffing his face with rice balls and shook his head. 'No way,' he thought. 'I'm probably just jumping to conclusions here.'
"Yeah,", Seo said as he smacked his fingers after stuffing his face. "I was with MBI". Ichigo blinked as Seo then gave him a sly look. Ichigo then glared as Seo then grinned at him. "Or was I-::SMACK:: OW!" he shouted as he began rubbing his head and looking up a Miya.
"Oh my, I do apologize," the landlady said, her arm outstretched. "My hand must have slipped."
"Miiiiiyaaaaa~," he whined as Ichigo blinked anew as he stared at the two of them.
"Kurosaki-san?" Miya then said as she looked at Ichigo. "Will you be okay if I left you alone with this trash? He's obviously come here for a reason so I may as well gather what he needs so he can be on his way. Isn't that right girls?"
She said as she then looked up to the two other ladies in the room.
"Y-yes," one of the girls replied as she moved forward to follow Miya before pausing to turn around. "Hikari?" she prodded.
The girl in question, Hikari, was busy openly glaring at the orange haired boy. Hikari's prodding alerted the boy to this and he in turn glared back. Seo glanced between the two before closing his eyes and smirked. After about a moment Hikari broke from the staring contest and walked up to her sister, hmphing at Ichigo as she walked past him and the two began to follow the landlady out of the room.
"The hell is her problem?" Ichigo grumbled as he turned his head back to the other guy who was smirking at him. "What?"
"Sorry 'bout earlier 'n all, but that's Miya for you. The name's Seo, by the way."
"Kurosaki Ichigo."
"Hikari, c'mon" Hibiki whispered as she saw her sister begin to slow down again as she heard Ichigo speak.
"I- I- I just can't..." Hikari's eye twitched as Miya turned around, a perplexed look on her face.
"Is something the matter?"
"No, no there isn't, Asama-san" Hibiki replied respectfully, elbowing her sister lightly.
"No-nothing at all" Hikari growled out as she stiffly resumed herself. They made their way towards the kitchen and were about to go through it to the storage area when a door opened nearby.
"Oro?" came a bleary voice. "What's going on here Miya-san?"
"Nothing, nothing, Ikki-san" Miya said, softly waving her hand at the girl. "We're just on our way to get some rice for their useless Ashikabi".
"Useless ashikabi?" Ikki blinked, tiredly scratching her head. "So these two aren't Ichigo-sama's either?"
Hikari began mumbling and Hibiki softly elbowed her again.
Ikki's eyes widened slightly at their actions, her hair scratching slowing down just a bit. "Hey... don't I know you from somewhere?"
Hikari shrugged and Hibiki looked thoughtful before answering in the negative.
"No... no I'm sure I know you two from somewhere..." she mumbled. "Where was it? I mean you two are Sekirei right?"
Both girls stiffened and Hibiki turned to scrutinize her a bit more.
"Yeah, problem with that"?
"N-no..." Ikki muttered. "It's just... why do I feel like I know you two?" she more or less asked herself. "Did we meet back at MBI?"
"No, can't say that we did" Hibiki answered as Hikari brought a hand to her chin and her eyes narrowed again.
"Did we meet in the street or something?" Ikki continued, mirroring Hikari's stance.
"You do seem kinda familiar.." Hikari mumbled out, now leaning towards Ikki as if it would help her figure this girl out.
"I know right?" Ikki nodded leaning forward as well. "I mean, I'd think I'd recognize silly getups like that right off the bat. Maybe I'm more hurt than I thought..."
Miya blinked while the conversation had stalled.
"Ladies, why don't we take it to-"
"Wait a sec..." Ikki interrupted. "What are your numbers?"
"Eleven" Hikari answered.
"Twelve" Hibiki spoke.
"Eleven and Twelve eh?" Ikki muttered. "And I just noticed you two look a lot alike also..."
"We're twins..."
"Twins?" Ikki questioned. "So you are. How'd I miss-" She cut herself off, her jaw dropping as she finally got enough hints.
Yes even Ikki can add 2 + 2 and = 4 once given enough info...
Her hand left her chin, and pointed shakily at the duo before her. "It's you..."
"Us?" Both responded at the same time.
In the dining area both Seo and Ichigo had leaned in to watch, having heard everything that was going on so far.
"You're the ones..." Ikki continued to whisper in stunned amazement.
Both blinked at her.
"I can't believe this..." Ikki continued to whisper. "Is this a boon or a test? The ones Nanaha-chan and I have been striving to defeat are here before me..." She shook her head and looked at the twins, her eyes blazing with determination. "This is my chance!"
She smirked and pointed at the twins, "I hope you two are ready! Because your day of reckoning has finally arrived!"
"Huh?" Both had stared back at her, wide-eyed.
"Your days of terrorizing and harassing innocent Sekirei are over! I, as your sole judge and prosecutor, find you guilty of dirty tricks and all sorts of not nice stuff! And I sentence you to defeat by my hand!"
"You what?" Hikari growled dangerously as she balled a fist and took a step foward.
As Ikki was about to continue a hand was rested on her shoulder.
"Ladies" Miya said with a smile and closed eyes. "As I was saying we can continue this in the storage room. Come, you can help us" she said as she moved and Ikki yelped as she was pulled along, leaving both twins to blink in confusion before Hibiki quickly followed.
Hikari just stewed for a moment, seemingly trying to grind a hole in the floor with her shoe before huffing and following as well.
Seo watched it all with a grin and laughed. Before he could say anything both men turned to the sounds of approaching footsteps.
"What the hell is...?" both turned to find Uzume in the hallway come to a halt as she saw who had come in. "Oh, its you," she said as her face scrunched up as if she had smelled a bad order.
Seo grinned and lifted a hand. "Hey Uzume."
Ichigo blinked as he saw his Sekirei addressed so familiarly. She rolled her eyes and walked the rest of the way up to stand a few feel in front of him and put her right hand to her hip as she glowered down at him. "Don't 'hey me' buster. Do you know what your girls pretty much put me through?" she said as she got straight to the point.
"Sorry 'bout that," Seo shrugged as he grinned at the irritated Sekirei. "But you know how my girls are sometimes. 'Sides... It wasn't all bad was it?
"That's beside the point," Uzume grumbled as she took her seat beside her Ashikabi. She folded her arms irritably as Ichigo gave her a side glance. "You really need to get your girls under control before some lynch mob comes for 'em or somethin'."
Ichigo continued to look at Uzume, who was staring hard eyes at the man in front of them. This was different...
"I would if I could, sweetheart, but you know the drill," Seo responded nonchalantly while Ichigo's eyes narrowed at how he referred to her. "'Sides, you know how strong my girls are."
"Oh, don't I know it," Uzume replied, drawling out the 'oh' as she rolled her eyes and head at that and at the memories.
"Hey, look on the bright side, at least you're still here and..." he trailed off as he turned to look at Ichigo and then turned back to Uzume with a large grin on his face. "So... he's yours?"
She then gave him a wry smile and leaned over to Ichigo but paused from laying her head on his shoulders as she could feel him tense slightly but never changed her expression as she kept her eyes locked on Seo's. "Whatever could have given it away?" she said airily.
"Oh I dunno," Seo sighed dramatically as his grin grew before holding his arms out a bit. "Could be how you seem to hover around him like a hawk."
"You think?" Uzume asked with feigned interest, causing her Ashikabi to give her another odd sideways glance.
"Well, there's also that cute little twinkle in your eye when you look at him." Seo pressed onwards.
'What. The. Hell...?' Ichigo thought, beginning to frown now at the way the two were talking to each other.
"Oh?" Uzume turned to Ichigo, a curious look on her face. "Ne, Ichigo... " she said, not knowing she had cut into his thoughts. "Are my eyes twinkling right now?"
"Not that I can see." Ichigo grunted out.
"Oh hooohh~," Seo chimed, leaning back bit. "Trouble in paradise, I take it?"
"No," Ichigo snorted as he turned away from the his Sekirei and gave an irritated glare at the older man. "Not that it's any of your business is it?"
"Oh, maaannn," Seo mock whined and put a hand to his face, giving a theatrical lean back before coming down to rest his arms on the table and leaned a bit forward. "You could have done sooo much better Uzume."
Ichigo's frown deepened as Uzume folded her arms over her chest, "Oh? Like who?"
Seo blinked and stayed in his posture, resting his weight on his arms on the table and tilted his head at her.
Ichigo grit his teeth, knowing exactly what was being implied.
Uzume blinked at Seo's action, and then her eyebrow rose as she read the gesture. "You don't mean..."
"You betcha, sweetie," Seo answered and pulled himself back to sit up straight with his arms held akimbo and gave a rather hammy smile.
"Well there's an interesting thought," Uzume nodded. "You really think you'd be man enough for a girl like me?"
"I'm already man enough for two, what's one more? 'Sides, despite why I have my girls do what they do we've known each for quite a long time. We'd've been so good, and the number sequence works out great as well," he said as he returned to his posture of resting himself on the table and leaning forward.
"Well, not for nothin' but your girls don't exactly like to share if you know what I mean," Uzume countered.
"Oh, you're right about now, but had things worked out then at the beginning..." he trailed off, his eyes closing and his smile becoming a bit more akin to wistful.
"Yeah, that would've been an interesting time I'm sure," Uzume nodded before turning to her Ashikabi with a grin. "But I'm happy with what I got. So what-if's can stay just that."
Seo then gave off a theatrical sigh of disappointment. "Well, it's your loss there, Uzume" With that, he again pulled back to sit in a more or less relaxed posture and watched the two, raising an eyebrow while shaking his head softly at the Sekirei's Ashikabi's expression.
"So, you're here for...?"
"Oh, you know me. Just here for the usual and to say hi to Miya."
"So same old, same old." Uzume sighed with her eyes closed, waving her hand a few times before returning her eyes on Seo. "Are you sure that's all?"
"Well," Seo said will giving a small shrug and stretched his neck. "I had heard there was an Ashikabi under Miya's roof and wanted to check up on them as well as check up on one other little matter".
"Oh?" Uzume 's eyebrow rose. "Never would've pegged you as someone who'd scope out the other Ashikabi."
"And you'd be right beautiful," Seo confirmed. "But... from what I heard about him... I kinda thought it bore investigation y'know? See what he's made of. And maybe entice an old friend back to my side," Seo said and grinned at her.
At this Ichigo folded his arms in front of him and tilted his head at the man, his hands beginning to dig into his arms.
Snorting, Uzume then turned to her side to face Ichigo but kept her gaze on Seo as she moved herself closer to her Ashikabi. Placing both her hands on his left shoulder she leaned into him slightly, his left bicep only partially being swallowed up into her cleavage as she then proceeded to stick her tongue out at Seo. "Sorry, but I happen to like the side I'm on now." She was about to lean back to sit back down when he shuffled underneath her and then felt a strong warm hand placed at the small of her back and gasped slightly, just suppressing a shudder as that warm hand touched bare skin due to her shirt riding up a bit.
Seo raised an eyebrow as the young man sitting across from giving him such a glare that he'd have probably burned through him and out through the backyard area as he pulled Uzume a little closer. "Something you want to say, friend?" Seo asked, a smirk growing on his face.
Uzume wasn't quite able to suppress the shudder as Ichigo kept eye contact with Seo and then growled before replying, "Nothing that needs saying."
Seo let out a chuckle putting up his hands in a warding gesture, "Fair enough." As Seo was about to open his mouth Miya suddenly came by out of the kitchen. "Hey Mi-", Seo called out as Miya walked by without looking at him. "-ya... Hm," he then huffed out as he watched her walk towards the front while both Uzume and Ichigo followed his gaze and the Landlady.
Ichigo and Uzume both leaned forward, mirroring each others movements as they tried to see what was going on without having to stand up. Both blinked as they heard a few voices along with Miya's accompanied by the sounds of the door shutting. Ichigo raised an eyebrow as the other tenant of Izumo and his two Sekirei slowly huffed his way towards them on his way to the kitchen, not looking or noticing either of them at the table. Though one could say it
was rude, it was tempered by the fact that the man was overly burdened by two large bags of rice that he held on his back.
"Yo!" Seo then called out. Minato paused and turned to the voice, not quite recognizing it before suddenly double-taking. "Hi there young man," Seo then said grinning as Minato's mouth dropped before the shock and weight of the rice bags he was carring caused him to fall backward.
"S-Seo-san?!" Minato gasped out, pointing a shaky finger at the elder Ashikabi. "What're you doing here?!"
"Hey there. Why so surprised?" Seo responded non-chalantly.
"W-why wouldn't I be surprised?" Minato retorted. "How do you even know where I live?!"
"Oh no big deal really," Seo shrugged, smirking at the younger man. "Just a case of a bit of good ole' detective work and familiarity helping me out."
"De-detective work?" Minato repeated as he started to stand up and gather up the fallen rice bags.
"Familiarity?" Ichigo questioned with a raised eye and glancing at Uzume, who shrugged her shoulders at him.
"Something like that," Seo admitted, a low chuckle coming from his lips. "Mostly it was that meal ya shared with me. I'd never be able to forget the taste of Miya's cooking even if I wanted to."
"Meal? You mean that lunch I shared with you?" Minato asked almost a bit awed as he blinked a couple times.
"I just said that didn't I kid?" Seo asked with a slight sarcastic tone. "C'mon kid, try to keep up here. I'm here for you after all."
"Why him?" Ichigo then asked, not noticing the look Minato gave him, as if realizing he and Uzume had been there this whole time.
"Just to check up on that Sekirei he winged," Seo shrugged. "The kid interested me," He smirked at Ichigo, causing the former shinigami to frown at him. "Kinda like you do man."
It was then that something caught the corner of Seo's eyes and he turned to the now open shouji door that lead to the backyard and a tiny figure barely had her head peaked inside, glancing at both himself and somebody else and seemingly either glaring and then quivering. "Looks like the kid's ok physically," Seo muttered. He turned back to Minato and asked, "I'm assuming you winged her right?"
Minato wordlessly nodded, not noticing the young Sekirei's state. Seo then turned back to see Kuu still semi-hiding by the door. "Hey, Green Girl, c'mere!"
Kuu's eyes then widened before being cast down as she shivered and moved further out of site, unknowing that they could see her outline from the shouji screen.
"Oi," Seo called out again before an eye twitched as the girl didn't move. "What's this, kid? Ain't gonna come say thank you to your kind and responsible Onii-san who so graciously he-GAHURK!"
Uzume and Minato gaped while Miya blinked, her hand and ladle in mid motion ready to be thrown as Seo suddenly went flying out into the courtyard while Ichigo seemed to hover in mid-air and came down from his spin kick. 'When... when did he..?!' Thought both Uzume and Minato at the same time with Uzume quickly looking back and forth from where Ichigo had just been sitting a second again to where he landed to where Seo had flown and bounced off to.
"YOU'RE SCARING HER YOU IDIOT!" Ichigo yelled out before wincing and then scowling as he turned and saw the young girl flinch and hide again. "And so am I apparently," he muttered under his breath. Ichigo simply let off a sigh as he re-took his seat, blinking at the stare Uzume was giving him. "What?"
"W-wow, Ichigo. I didn't even see you move." Uzume answered,
Ichigo blinked, not quite sure how to respond to that. To be quite honest, it almost felt like decking his father. He was about to say something when he noticed Uzume suddenly recoiling.
"My, my Kurosaki-kun" Miya said to his still turned back a bit of a dark aura beginning to flare up, "have we not forgotten that there is no violence in Maison Izumo?"
Ichigo turned to see what had caused Uzume to act like that but by the time he saw Miya behind him whatever malevolence that had begun to flare up suddenly winked away, leaving the landlady standing there with the ladle end pressed against her cheek, her head tilted slightly as she seemed to be in thought. "However", she started, "Since it was teaching that trash a lesson I'll let it slide this time".
Ichigo blinked, not quite sure what to make about it before noticing that the other occupants in the room wore similar expressions to what he saw Uzume have. "Did I miss something here?" Ichigo asked.
Miya blinked, looking at Ichigo almost confused before closing her eyes once more. "Miss what?"
"I dunno why, but it feel like I'm missing something here," Ichigo shrugged. "Aw well, guess it's nothing."
Ichigo put his hand on the floor and began to stand up before stopping in mid-motion, eyes widening. 'What did he say!?'
-=-=-
'Ain't gonna come say thank you to your kind and responsible Onii-san who so graciously he-'
-=-=-
Ichigo's mind worked furiously. 'He's talking about the kid. Didn't Minato say something about-'
-=-=-
"The one who helped me save Kuu yesterday", he responded.
-=-=-
His eyes narrowed at the other bit of information that he said.
-=-=-
"An-anyone with the power of an Ashikabi can wing any Sekirei whether they want to or not"
-=-=-
His head suddenely and sharply turned back to the yard, seeing Seo shaking his head as he got into a sitting position. 'So he's the one...' Ichigo thought.
"-saki-san?" he heard a voice say.
"Ichigo?"
He blinked, turning to his side to see Uzume next to him concerned.
"What is it Uzume?" Ichigo sighed.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Of course I'm fine," Ichigo grumbled. "Why wouldn't I be? Just thinkin' is all."
"So yeah, you top heavy bimbos best watch out! When my sis is better you evil twins are going down!"
Uzume and the rest blinked as several, or rather, one voice began to drift their way.
"No more sneak attacks, no more cowardly double teams, no more cheating overpowering moves, you girls are D-O-N-E!"
Ichigo blinked to see the two girls that came with Seo come into view with Ikki, who had been walking backwards carrying a rice bag with her, similar if not identical to the one that Minato dropped a few moments ago. As the twins finally came into he noticed that they too were carrying a bag each.
"Yeah and we're gonna be standin' over you two losers, arm in arm with Ichigo-sama as you lay there all beat up and embarrassed! Just you watch!" Ikki continued to crow.
Hibiki's eye continued to twitch as they finally came to a stop in the dining room and turned to glare once more at the orange haired punk and tune out the annoying Sekirei that just wouldn't shut up. She also ignored the long suffering sigh that she knew her sister let off. It was then that she blinked as she noticed how everyone was positioned and then turned to see her Ashikabi out in the backyard getting into a sitting position. "What the hell happened to you Seo?" she asked as Seo rubbed his jaw slightly.
Seo sat silent, brining his hand up to his jaw and rubbing it. He head was tilted downwards and his shaggy hair obscuring his eyes. It wasn't too long before he lifted his head, eyes sharp and narrowed as he glared back at Ichigo, his hand still rubbing his jaw.
Ichigo glared right back him.
Hikari shifted with the bag in her hands, wondering if she'd get a chance after all.
Finally, Seo stood up and moved his lower jaw around and stretched his neck a few times before resuming his staredown with the spiky haired man before dripping it and giving him a large grin. "Not bad guy," he said and gave a thumbs up motion. "That's a hell of a kick you got there." The dining rooms occupants' eyes widened as Seo put his hands into his pockets and walked back inside the inn.
"Hey kid," he said, looking at Minato now who was just stepping inside too. "Just wanted to check up on how the Green Girl was doing," turning to see where she was before rolling his eyes to see that she was now back outside and peeking her head in to glare back at him.
"As well as other things," Miya chimed in, causing Hibiki to sigh once more.
"Not gonna deny that now," Seo chuckled, shrugging indifferently at Miya's accusations as he made his way to the front. "I was hoping to get a nice homecooked meal outta this check up. But..." his gaze turned back to Ichigo, a strange glint in his eyes. "Here you go and give me another interesting surprise Miya."
Miya smiled pleasantly at Seo, "Oh? By whatever do you mean?"
Seo snorted at Miya's innocent tone, "You know what I mean. You're trying to keep the two most interesting Ashikabi in this game all to yourself."
"What's that mean?" Ichigo chimed in suddenly, bringing Seo's attention solely back to him.
"Jus' that you're one to keep an eye on, man" he said shrugging as he reached the front door before turning to see his girls behind all the others with the rice bags in their arms. "We're outta here!"
At his call the twins began to march up towards Seo though before he could blink Ikki also rushed up to him with another bag of rice in her arms. "Here ya go", she said as she dropped the bag in his arms, and he grunted as his knees almost buckled at the unexpected weight as he unconsciously brought his arms up to catch it.
That done the Sekirei turned to hop back, humming a happy little tune.
"Uh, yeah, thanks... I think." Shrugging, Seo then began to turn.
"Seo!"
Seo stopped, turning to see Minato walk up to him.
"Th-thank you for helping Kuu-chan," he said as he bowed lightly. "I.. I just really wanted to let you know that."
Seo's lips thinned and then moved upwards as his eyes began to look back and forth before his head began moving around as well, giving the impression of giving a great deal of thought to something.
"Hold up," another voice called out and Seo turned his head to the new speaker.
"I got some questions for you..." Ichigo said as he stepped outside too.
Seo grinned at the former shinigami, "What'dya want to know?"
=========