Man, someone's on a roll here eh?
So basicly, this thread is here for omakes, what ifs, and just stuff we want to gauge before we put it in the chapter proper. This should prove more active than the chapter threads, as this'll most likely be where we let out whatever we got planned next.
And what better way to open this thread than to finish our first what if?
And now... our story begins...
==============================
It has been said that Teito was a city of layers, and that MBI headquarters was its newest and greatest crown jewel. It was a beautiful tower, and the definition of state of the art if a building could claim such a title. Some even proclaimed it to be more magnificent than many of it's western contemperaries. More than anything, the tower represented the new order and new way of things in this society today.
Inside, the tower built by the technological wonderstorm that MBI had become were as many amenities that one could imagine. Atop of the many labratories, offices, and research facilities that they hosted were a plethora of gymnasiums, living quarters, and many other faculties that one would expect to find in a deluxe penthouse, not a place of work.
But when one considers this is also the headquarters for the Sekirei game, the surprise diminishes greatly.
Inside one of the living quarters, the sounds of someone eating could be heard. It was a mix of an office room with a normal residential home, or at least one with as much decour of a grand hotel. Two women sat in what would be considered the living room, absorbed in their business. One sat cross-legged on the couch, idly eating a box of pocky and looking out the window of the room with a dazed detachment, magazines strewn about haphazardly amongst empty boxes and bads of candy and chips.
Across the room the other woman sat, saying nothing as she ran her naked blade across the millstone before her. She took a few swipeson the material befoe she would stop, wet the stone and continue as she dilligntly sharpened her weapon.
Both were so engrossed with their preoccupation that they did not take notice of a thumping sound that seemed to be getting louder.
-WHAM-
Both Haihane and Karasuba looked up to see Benitsubasa march forward through the door with her arm still outstretched. Leaving a spiderweb of cracks where the doorknob impacted, the door itself bounced back quick enough to be caught by her outstretched hand and slammed backwards to shut it by the walking girl.
Standing at 5' 2" she had a petite frame that belied the awesome physical power she had at her fingertips. Her stunning pink eyes were currently narrowed in anger and her stiff arms held her balled fists as she stomped her way passed her two teammates. She had bright pink hair, the same color as her eyes, that had been pulled back into a ponytail that formed at the left-back side of her head. Despite being pulled back, she had left enough of her bangs free to stylize by having it combed from the right side of her head to the left with two locks of hair framing her face. They bounced as the girl continued to stomp her way to her room, growling to the other two Sekirei without turning to acknowledge them.
Seeing her mood Haihane lifted a hand to her face to semi cover her grinning face and catch any falling crumbs. "What's wrong Benitsubasa? Did someone mistake you for a boy again?" She asked, her shoulders moving up and down as she snickered, bits of food spitting out as she needled her teammate.
Benitsubasa turned to glare at her, baring her teeth and giving her a wide-eyed look of rage that would have many others pissing in their pants, but not Haihane. Haihane continued to snicker as Benitsubasa made her way to her room and slammed the door shut behind her.
The show done, Haihane settled down and continued to stare at the door that Benitsubasa had slammed shut. "She's at it again," she commented.
After a minute passed by Karasuba looked up from her blade to Haihane. "Were you talking to me?" she asked.
Haihane shrugged in reply, knowing the longest member of the Disciplinary Squad didn't care one way or the other. "You haven't noticed?"
Karasuba went back to her blade. "I don't care either way."
And Haihane's observations prove correct again as she shrugged away the answer and stared at the door for another minute before putting another pocky stick into her mouth and resumed chewing.
Inside her room Benitsubasa stood at her closet breathing hard. Sweat trickled down her brow as she concentrated on what she needed to do. Grabbing her yellow gi she tossed it on her bed and began to strip. Once skimmed down to her panties she walked towards her bed and listed, the room suddenly leaning to one side as her arms shot out towards the bed for support. Arched over the bed her head fell low and her ponytail spilled onto her bed as she kept her position, deigning to only have one knee provide extra support by pressing it against the side of her bed; her pride still enough to keep it from the top and lying on her bed as she tried to regain control.
Opening her eyes she saw from an upside-down point of view her legs and the tips of her breasts pointing downward as she continued to take in large gulps of air for a few more minutes as she began to regain control over her body and equilibrium. Lifting herself off her bed she stood without teetering an wiped her head and the sweat off and grabbed the sports bra to put it on. She growled as she could almost hear Haihane poke fun at her for that. She was by no means flat, but her breasts were small enough that to her utter chagrin and one particular teammate's pleasure that they could be poked fun at.
Soon enough she was tightening her gi's belt and her padded red fingerless fighting gloves. On her feet, white tennis shoes with a pink trim rested, matching her hair appropriately as she made her way to her next destination. Not caring about her future teammates and what they may be doing she slammed the door open and once more began to stomp towards the door to the main hallway of MBI's Residential section of MBI Tower.
"Going to the gym?" Haihane asked, causing Benitsubasa to pause in her march to glare back. Was she stupid? She had her gi on, where else could she go? Instead the pale Sekirei tittered once more with narrow eyes. "What happened to make you take so long to put that on?"
Snorting Benitsubasa turned with a huff and continued to the door.
"It was quiet the whole time, so it couldn't be you playing with yourself again."
And with that she stiffly came to a stop and shakily turned her head to Haihane, her expression far scarier than the one she gave when she came in. "I'l kill you, she said in a low voice and a vein popping out of her forehead.
"So what's wrong?" Haihane asked as if Benitsubasa never spoke and crunching another pocky stick.
Eyes twitching, Benitsubasa turned and grabbed the doorknob so hard the metal knob twisted as if it were play-doe and was nearly pulled out the door as it was yanked.
-CRASH-
Haihane winced as the door was slammed so hard the sides shattered into splinters and the doorknob now hung loosely as the door bounced back a bit, no longer having anywhere to lock to.
Karasuba lifted her head from her blade and opened her eyes momentarily before closing them again to turn to Haihane. "Now that you mention it, she has been acting strange now has she?"
"I thought you didn't care?"
"You're right," Karasuba answered and resumed sharpening her katana.
======
Damnit...
Her gloved fists slammed into the thick rope in a blurred sequence of face and body shots. The seven foot tall, and five foot thick concrete makawara didnÆt give much, but the entire foundation of the thing shook. Her opponent would have had cracked ribs and been missing teeth.
Damnit...
Her left foot, turned out, shot forward, her heel slamming into lower part of the striking post. Then she was gliding forward, smooth and fast, her right knee crushing into the mid section of the makawara. Right foot crossed behind left, stepping backwards, then she was spinning around to the left, right leg hooking out and her right heel slammed into the rope-covered cement. This time the floor groaned, dust exploding from the makawara and floor, even though the striking post was anchored directly to the foundation.
A sekireiÆs shin would have been cracked, his or her diaphragm bruised, and s/he would have had to pull her heel *out *of their temple.
Why you...? Why now...?
Her left fist tightened as she shot forward, her whole body rocketing like a bullet, fist ripping through layers of four inch thick roped that could have stopped a katana. Her shoulders heaving, sweat gleaming on her tanned face, Benitsubasa slumped into a slightly glum cross-legged posture, red fingerless gloved hands cupping her chin, arm resting on her thighs.
She was dressed like she normally did when she trained, a plain yellow sleeveless gi over a black sports bra that hugged her small but very firm and pert breasts tightly. Black Spandex pants covered her lower body, already showing her toned thigh muscles, and now that they were damp with sweat, those who cared to look could see the outlines of her panties.
She glared at the pulverized remains of the makawara, no closer to the answer to her question that had been haunting her for the past month. A month ago, she wouldn't have wasted so many movemnts on the thing. A month ago, she wouldn't have used so much power to make a mess of shredded rope and cracked concrete. A month ago, she had all the focus, discipline, and motivation she needed to reach her goal.
But that... was a month ago.
With a deep sigh the adorable young sekirei stood, looking for a new outlet to focus her rage on. Her fists clenched tightly as she felt a presence behind her, and she let off a growl as she twisted around angerly at the unwelcomed newcomer, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" she barked.
Only to freeze in shock as she met Natsuo's surprised gaze. "Well... that's a new one."
"Ah... ah... ah..." she gaped with a hand held close to her mouth in response to the man who was to be the future Ashikabi of the third Disciplinary Squad.
"Well, at least you do keep the staff busy these days Benitsubasa." Natsuo commented as he made his way to the shell shocked Sekirei.
"Sorry," she muttered, looking away from the man with a slight flush on her cheeks.
""No harm, no foul," Natsuo shrugged off easily enough, recognizing the sincerity of her tone. "Still, I do wonder what's going on in that head of yours. You've been coming in here a lot recently. Are you nervous?"
"No," she said flatly as she hemmed a bit with her arms now around her back. She rolled on her heel as she continued, "At least not about that. I'm just... just a little to anxious I guess."
Natsuo frowned slightly at her lackluster response. "Anxious are you?" She nodded briefly, but still didn't turn to look at him. "You've been rather anxious for this past month then. Your damages are getting to be so high that even Sahashi-san is getting curious."
"I'll be more careful then," Benisubasa bit back. "Was there something else you wanted Natsuo, or are we done here?"
Natsuo's eyebrow rose at the tone in the Sekirei's voice. There were times where he caught sight of her explosive ire when she was unaware of his presence, but this was the first time he seemed to be on the receiving end of it. "No... no that's all for now. I'll let you get back to your traning then..." He trailed off looking toward the direction he entered. "Do remember that if you need anyone to talk too... MBI does have some of the finest psychiatrists in the world."
"I said-" she slapped her hands over her moth as she almost snapped at Natsuo again.
"You said?" Natsuo pried as he turned back to her.
"I said don't be silly!" Benisubasa replied as she removed her hands from her lips and waved sheepishly at him and then gave the pharmaceutical department clerk a bright smile, "I'm fine. I just can't wait for that day is all!"
"Right..." Natsuo drawled. "Before I forget, there was the matter of the door to the Disciplanary Squad room. It was broken to pieces an hour ago."
"It's that idiot Haihane's fault." she replied quickly. "That idiot wasn't looking and broke it."
"Uh huh," Natsuo replied. "I wish you wouldn't call her names. You two are going to be partners soon afterall."
"I'll stop calling her an idiot when she stops making me right," Benisubasa replied as she crossed her arms and looked away and slightly upwards with a huff.
Natsuo just sighed at her reply, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "It never ends does it? Just rememer what I said ok?"
Benitsubasa simply nodded as Natsuo turned to leave the training facility. When he was gone, Benitsubasa's smile faded. Her false cheer replaced with a irritated frown. "Damit... what's wrong with me?" she growled as her hands balled into fists. "I'm so close to getting everything I wanted, and I'm about to blow it."
She shot her right hand forward. The right-handed punch flew straight and true, fast and with enough force to shatter bone. "And I snapped at Natsuo. Natsuo!! I... I never snapped at Natsuo before..." she moaned irritably as she brought her hands to her forehead and tilted her head downward and shook it. Within her mind's eye she saw Natsuo's smiling face... His cool gaze as he went about his business... His small smile when he was in his element... Even his stylish hair...
Everything about him screamed COOL to her. And he was going to be her Ashikabi soon. Her husband! The utter cherry on top of her dreams coming true. Despite one glaring flaw that she was absolutely sure she could fix he was all she ever wanted in an Ashikabi. This was all she ever wanted in her life. To have a cool, handsome Ashikabi and to be able to battle to her hearts content in the Sekirei game.
But that... was a month ago.
That was before she ran into...
HIM.
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Ghostface211 presents...
In Association with Wheeljack...
A Veiled Moon What If Senario...
Benitsubasa has a problem...
Comments, Constructive Criticism, and MST 3000's can go to ghostface211@gmail.com
=========
One Month Ago...
Bentsubasa strolled down the streets of Teito with a confindent walk and a bright smile on her face, unmindful of the looks she received no doubt due to her hair and figure, she was certain. She was not in her Disciplinary Squad uniform this day but in more rather mundane clothing, or about as mundane as a simple tee shirt and blue jeans combo from a high end store to go along with a warm overcoat and pink wool boots to combat the cold winter air. Bags of clothing from the hottest stores this section of Teito had to offer swung to and fro in both hands as she happily entertained thoughts on how she'd cure Natsuo of his little... problem.... that had a small chance of having problems when it was time for her to be winged. No doubt, one look at her in one of the items she had in her bags and that hottie of a man would proclaim her his forever and take her. She just needed one last thing to push it over the top.
She giggled aloud at that, bringing both hands to her face, which would block her sight momentarily if not for the fact that she had closed her eyes as she laughed, daydreams already in place and now a small formality before final victory! After all, she was Sekirei Number One-Hundred and Five. The pretty, powerful package known as Benitsubasa. There was nothing she could not fix nor no enemy she could defeat if she put her mind to it and used all of her strength. She was all but assured to be the next member of the Third Disciplinary Squad; the one that would watch over the Sekirei Game itself and the first one that would have an Ashikabi.
'Ahhhhhh~ Natsuo-saamaaaa'
Her mood only conitinued to climb as she reached her destination. There was no where to go but up from here.
=========
Elsewhere...
Ichigo let out an irritated groan as he stood outside in the cold winter night, his hands rubbing his arms for warmth. "Damit, what the hell is taking her so long?" he grumbled irritably. It hat been about two hours since he had put his latest apartment hunt to an end for this weekend, and true to his word he had returned to Izumo to check in on Uzume. Not long after, she had somehow convinced him to take her out on a night on the town. He was hesitant at first, and at first his fears were alleviated as she brought him to a nice out of the way spot for dinner. They even managed to have a nice conversation about what they had been doing the past week, and he even laughed at a story she had about Kagari and a rare irriate client of his.
It was fortunate the story ended without incident, as it would be awkward to harass the host club worker about it when he retured later. In spite of himself, the time they spent together was relaxing in a way. And more than once he found himself enjoying their time together. He actually forgot about the events that brought them together in the first place and simply saw it as a man and a woman enjoying themselves and having a good time.
Dare he say it... he was actually having a date and enjoying it.
So of course that had to come to a stop.
"I knew it was to good to be true," He grumbled again as he glared at the shop Uzume had disappeared into some time ago. A shop that was one of the places that screamed 'no men allowed.' At least no married men allowed... And even though Uzume claimed that they were married, ('Right...', his mind would scoff) there was no way in hell he would be caught dead going into a lingerie botique. He'd rather fight off Aizen, Yammy, Grimjaww, and sad clown arrancar by himself with his hands tied behind his back and no Bankai than go into that den of femininity.
"And I can't belive she wanted me to come with her." he snorted. "Model my ass." He let off a sneeze, and gave the store another irritated glance as he caught another cloud of warmth that sped away from him from his sneeze as he rubbed his arms. "Shit, might as well go inside until she's done in there."
========
"Thank you for your patronage!"
Benitsubasa nodded twice with a happy sound of acknowledgement and bent down to grab all of her bags and nearly skipped her way to the exit. Lost in the euphoria of her daydreams with the hot little number she just purchased that she swung the door open and plowed into an near immovable object, both stumbling outside. She yelped as her foot had caught into something that caused her to twist and all, a few of her items falling around her and out of the bags.
Her breath caught as some of those items hit the cold hard and in some spots wet ground before her temper started to flare and the urge to kill began to bubble. Eyes twitching, her fists clenched as she brought herself up into a crouching position, one arm rested on a knee while a fist was held to the ground.
'I'm gonna kill the poor sap who did this! All my work for Natsuo ruined by this....this....'
"Sorry 'bout that," came a deep male voice. "Didn't see you there."
So it was a male. Deluded fool. Only one man could touch her!
"Didn't see me there?!" she growled as she quickly stood up and balled her fists and twirled around, ready to lay into him, her mind telling her it was likely some wretched, poor fat otaku who wanted to peak into the lingerie store.
"How dare you- you....you...," she instantly halted and started to choke.
He was tall. A bit taller than Natsuo with brown eyes that looked at her in concern. Atop his head was a bit of a spiked mess of hair, but it suited him extremely well, his bangs stopping short of his eyes sans a bit that fell a bit lower at the bridge of his nose. But the most amazing thing was the color of his hair, standing out as much as her's did, a bright shock of orange that screamed 'LOOK AT ME' at this... this.. this...
The poor fat otaku image burned away like a flash flare as her mind saw this.. this....
'OHMYGOD, HE'S A HOTTIE!" her mind screamed at her as her body and heart began to heat up. Caught so off guard she fell limply to her knees in shock and stayed there with her mouth and eyes agape.
Ichigo blinked as the girl in front of him starred at him in wide eye shock. Almost as if she was starring into the face of god. "Uh.... are... are you ok?
"N..." she muttered.
"N?" Ichigo repeated.
"N... not... not at...all," she managed to get out, her voice weak and light as her body began heating up to a point that she was sure that the snow underneath her was going to melt.
"Do you want me to call someone?" he asked, concern entering his voice. "A doctor? Your parents? A friend?"
"N..no.. thank you," she got out, her voice still very light.
"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked again. "You don't look so good. I really think you should see someone."
"I... I'm f-fine..." she gasped. "I... just n... need to sit sitll for a sec..."
Ichigo frowned slightly, "You're sure?" she nodded and Ichigo sighed. "Fine then. Sorry 'bout bumpin into ya."
"Hey Ichigo~!" Chirped Uzume as she walked behind him. "I'm done."
"Super," Ichigo grumbled as he turned to his sekirei. "Let's go."
"Sure thing," she nodded before looking down to see a girl staring at his back, her eyes still wide in shock. Something in her mind gnawed at her that she should know this girl, but the different clothing along with the gaping open mouth and wide eyes averted any recognition she would have made otherwise. "What's with her?"
Ichigo shrugged, "Dunno. She says she's fine though."
Uzume shrugged back, "If you say so, then let's get a move on." She clutched his arm, and dragged him away from her sister sekirei. "The movie starts in a half-hour and I forgot its a premiere! We gotta go now to get in line!"
"Premiere?" His mind racked for more information on what was premiering this week but drew a blank. "I hope this ain't some chick flick, Uzume."
"Oh you'll love it, trust me." Uzume replied as she pulled him along, their voices trailing off before long as they disappeared into the thick crowd. Back near the door to the lingeire shop Benitsubasa remained unaware as she continued to stare off into the space Ichigo stood moments ago. A small crowd gathering around the shell shocked sekirei with her bags and items strewn about her.
Finally she blinked.
"Oh... oh damn," she grumbled as her body continued to remain warm. "This... this is not good," she muttered as a hand came to her heart, pounding so hard it felt like it would burst through her chest. She took in a deep shuddering breath as she brought her legs tightly together as her mind replayed that man's image.
"Hey?" a voice called out. "Are you okay?"
She then suddenly stood up, looked around and to the crowds shock quickly grabbed her things and jumped high into the air, trying to get to high ground.
'Where'?
She looked around, bags in her arms as her mouth continued to suck in large gasps of air.
'Where'?!
That... that... wonderful...
No...
She bent to her knees as she tried to bring up Natsuo's face before it was burned away by the image of that wonderful orange-haired man's face.
Again she stood and grabbed her things as she began to jump to different rooftops to look around, at one point removing her jacket; her body so hot the cold air wasn't helping any as she looked to and fro into the sea of people below, desperately searching for an orange color.
'No...'
Again, moments later found herself on a new rooftop, again scanning the grounds below.
'Where?'
And without thinking she dropped down, ignoring the gasps and screams of people from where she landed, not caring about the cracks and cratering of the ground below. As if a drop from 6 stories up mattered...
But still...
She raced for hours, looking from shop to shop, street to street, almost car to car.
...no sign of the orange haired man.
Finally, she found herself flat against some rooftop, where she didn't care, all that she could think about was that she couldn't find him...
And trying to deal with the fact that she was reacting....
Her body, hot, her heart pounding, her mind a wretched mess with one man on her mind...
And it wasn't Natsuo.
She curled into a ball on the roof, not caring at the snowfall, the flakes instantly watering as they neared her skin as her arms covered her head.
She shook, in some cases violently as tears fell as thoughts about her future and Natsuo conflicted with the loss of that orange haired man and an overwhelming desire to be whatever he wanted.
======
So basicly, this thread is here for omakes, what ifs, and just stuff we want to gauge before we put it in the chapter proper. This should prove more active than the chapter threads, as this'll most likely be where we let out whatever we got planned next.
And what better way to open this thread than to finish our first what if?
And now... our story begins...
==============================
It has been said that Teito was a city of layers, and that MBI headquarters was its newest and greatest crown jewel. It was a beautiful tower, and the definition of state of the art if a building could claim such a title. Some even proclaimed it to be more magnificent than many of it's western contemperaries. More than anything, the tower represented the new order and new way of things in this society today.
Inside, the tower built by the technological wonderstorm that MBI had become were as many amenities that one could imagine. Atop of the many labratories, offices, and research facilities that they hosted were a plethora of gymnasiums, living quarters, and many other faculties that one would expect to find in a deluxe penthouse, not a place of work.
But when one considers this is also the headquarters for the Sekirei game, the surprise diminishes greatly.
Inside one of the living quarters, the sounds of someone eating could be heard. It was a mix of an office room with a normal residential home, or at least one with as much decour of a grand hotel. Two women sat in what would be considered the living room, absorbed in their business. One sat cross-legged on the couch, idly eating a box of pocky and looking out the window of the room with a dazed detachment, magazines strewn about haphazardly amongst empty boxes and bads of candy and chips.
Across the room the other woman sat, saying nothing as she ran her naked blade across the millstone before her. She took a few swipeson the material befoe she would stop, wet the stone and continue as she dilligntly sharpened her weapon.
Both were so engrossed with their preoccupation that they did not take notice of a thumping sound that seemed to be getting louder.
-WHAM-
Both Haihane and Karasuba looked up to see Benitsubasa march forward through the door with her arm still outstretched. Leaving a spiderweb of cracks where the doorknob impacted, the door itself bounced back quick enough to be caught by her outstretched hand and slammed backwards to shut it by the walking girl.
Standing at 5' 2" she had a petite frame that belied the awesome physical power she had at her fingertips. Her stunning pink eyes were currently narrowed in anger and her stiff arms held her balled fists as she stomped her way passed her two teammates. She had bright pink hair, the same color as her eyes, that had been pulled back into a ponytail that formed at the left-back side of her head. Despite being pulled back, she had left enough of her bangs free to stylize by having it combed from the right side of her head to the left with two locks of hair framing her face. They bounced as the girl continued to stomp her way to her room, growling to the other two Sekirei without turning to acknowledge them.
Seeing her mood Haihane lifted a hand to her face to semi cover her grinning face and catch any falling crumbs. "What's wrong Benitsubasa? Did someone mistake you for a boy again?" She asked, her shoulders moving up and down as she snickered, bits of food spitting out as she needled her teammate.
Benitsubasa turned to glare at her, baring her teeth and giving her a wide-eyed look of rage that would have many others pissing in their pants, but not Haihane. Haihane continued to snicker as Benitsubasa made her way to her room and slammed the door shut behind her.
The show done, Haihane settled down and continued to stare at the door that Benitsubasa had slammed shut. "She's at it again," she commented.
After a minute passed by Karasuba looked up from her blade to Haihane. "Were you talking to me?" she asked.
Haihane shrugged in reply, knowing the longest member of the Disciplinary Squad didn't care one way or the other. "You haven't noticed?"
Karasuba went back to her blade. "I don't care either way."
And Haihane's observations prove correct again as she shrugged away the answer and stared at the door for another minute before putting another pocky stick into her mouth and resumed chewing.
Inside her room Benitsubasa stood at her closet breathing hard. Sweat trickled down her brow as she concentrated on what she needed to do. Grabbing her yellow gi she tossed it on her bed and began to strip. Once skimmed down to her panties she walked towards her bed and listed, the room suddenly leaning to one side as her arms shot out towards the bed for support. Arched over the bed her head fell low and her ponytail spilled onto her bed as she kept her position, deigning to only have one knee provide extra support by pressing it against the side of her bed; her pride still enough to keep it from the top and lying on her bed as she tried to regain control.
Opening her eyes she saw from an upside-down point of view her legs and the tips of her breasts pointing downward as she continued to take in large gulps of air for a few more minutes as she began to regain control over her body and equilibrium. Lifting herself off her bed she stood without teetering an wiped her head and the sweat off and grabbed the sports bra to put it on. She growled as she could almost hear Haihane poke fun at her for that. She was by no means flat, but her breasts were small enough that to her utter chagrin and one particular teammate's pleasure that they could be poked fun at.
Soon enough she was tightening her gi's belt and her padded red fingerless fighting gloves. On her feet, white tennis shoes with a pink trim rested, matching her hair appropriately as she made her way to her next destination. Not caring about her future teammates and what they may be doing she slammed the door open and once more began to stomp towards the door to the main hallway of MBI's Residential section of MBI Tower.
"Going to the gym?" Haihane asked, causing Benitsubasa to pause in her march to glare back. Was she stupid? She had her gi on, where else could she go? Instead the pale Sekirei tittered once more with narrow eyes. "What happened to make you take so long to put that on?"
Snorting Benitsubasa turned with a huff and continued to the door.
"It was quiet the whole time, so it couldn't be you playing with yourself again."
And with that she stiffly came to a stop and shakily turned her head to Haihane, her expression far scarier than the one she gave when she came in. "I'l kill you, she said in a low voice and a vein popping out of her forehead.
"So what's wrong?" Haihane asked as if Benitsubasa never spoke and crunching another pocky stick.
Eyes twitching, Benitsubasa turned and grabbed the doorknob so hard the metal knob twisted as if it were play-doe and was nearly pulled out the door as it was yanked.
-CRASH-
Haihane winced as the door was slammed so hard the sides shattered into splinters and the doorknob now hung loosely as the door bounced back a bit, no longer having anywhere to lock to.
Karasuba lifted her head from her blade and opened her eyes momentarily before closing them again to turn to Haihane. "Now that you mention it, she has been acting strange now has she?"
"I thought you didn't care?"
"You're right," Karasuba answered and resumed sharpening her katana.
======
Damnit...
Her gloved fists slammed into the thick rope in a blurred sequence of face and body shots. The seven foot tall, and five foot thick concrete makawara didnÆt give much, but the entire foundation of the thing shook. Her opponent would have had cracked ribs and been missing teeth.
Damnit...
Her left foot, turned out, shot forward, her heel slamming into lower part of the striking post. Then she was gliding forward, smooth and fast, her right knee crushing into the mid section of the makawara. Right foot crossed behind left, stepping backwards, then she was spinning around to the left, right leg hooking out and her right heel slammed into the rope-covered cement. This time the floor groaned, dust exploding from the makawara and floor, even though the striking post was anchored directly to the foundation.
A sekireiÆs shin would have been cracked, his or her diaphragm bruised, and s/he would have had to pull her heel *out *of their temple.
Why you...? Why now...?
Her left fist tightened as she shot forward, her whole body rocketing like a bullet, fist ripping through layers of four inch thick roped that could have stopped a katana. Her shoulders heaving, sweat gleaming on her tanned face, Benitsubasa slumped into a slightly glum cross-legged posture, red fingerless gloved hands cupping her chin, arm resting on her thighs.
She was dressed like she normally did when she trained, a plain yellow sleeveless gi over a black sports bra that hugged her small but very firm and pert breasts tightly. Black Spandex pants covered her lower body, already showing her toned thigh muscles, and now that they were damp with sweat, those who cared to look could see the outlines of her panties.
She glared at the pulverized remains of the makawara, no closer to the answer to her question that had been haunting her for the past month. A month ago, she wouldn't have wasted so many movemnts on the thing. A month ago, she wouldn't have used so much power to make a mess of shredded rope and cracked concrete. A month ago, she had all the focus, discipline, and motivation she needed to reach her goal.
But that... was a month ago.
With a deep sigh the adorable young sekirei stood, looking for a new outlet to focus her rage on. Her fists clenched tightly as she felt a presence behind her, and she let off a growl as she twisted around angerly at the unwelcomed newcomer, "WHAT DO YOU WANT?!" she barked.
Only to freeze in shock as she met Natsuo's surprised gaze. "Well... that's a new one."
"Ah... ah... ah..." she gaped with a hand held close to her mouth in response to the man who was to be the future Ashikabi of the third Disciplinary Squad.
"Well, at least you do keep the staff busy these days Benitsubasa." Natsuo commented as he made his way to the shell shocked Sekirei.
"Sorry," she muttered, looking away from the man with a slight flush on her cheeks.
""No harm, no foul," Natsuo shrugged off easily enough, recognizing the sincerity of her tone. "Still, I do wonder what's going on in that head of yours. You've been coming in here a lot recently. Are you nervous?"
"No," she said flatly as she hemmed a bit with her arms now around her back. She rolled on her heel as she continued, "At least not about that. I'm just... just a little to anxious I guess."
Natsuo frowned slightly at her lackluster response. "Anxious are you?" She nodded briefly, but still didn't turn to look at him. "You've been rather anxious for this past month then. Your damages are getting to be so high that even Sahashi-san is getting curious."
"I'll be more careful then," Benisubasa bit back. "Was there something else you wanted Natsuo, or are we done here?"
Natsuo's eyebrow rose at the tone in the Sekirei's voice. There were times where he caught sight of her explosive ire when she was unaware of his presence, but this was the first time he seemed to be on the receiving end of it. "No... no that's all for now. I'll let you get back to your traning then..." He trailed off looking toward the direction he entered. "Do remember that if you need anyone to talk too... MBI does have some of the finest psychiatrists in the world."
"I said-" she slapped her hands over her moth as she almost snapped at Natsuo again.
"You said?" Natsuo pried as he turned back to her.
"I said don't be silly!" Benisubasa replied as she removed her hands from her lips and waved sheepishly at him and then gave the pharmaceutical department clerk a bright smile, "I'm fine. I just can't wait for that day is all!"
"Right..." Natsuo drawled. "Before I forget, there was the matter of the door to the Disciplanary Squad room. It was broken to pieces an hour ago."
"It's that idiot Haihane's fault." she replied quickly. "That idiot wasn't looking and broke it."
"Uh huh," Natsuo replied. "I wish you wouldn't call her names. You two are going to be partners soon afterall."
"I'll stop calling her an idiot when she stops making me right," Benisubasa replied as she crossed her arms and looked away and slightly upwards with a huff.
Natsuo just sighed at her reply, rubbing the bridge of his nose tiredly. "It never ends does it? Just rememer what I said ok?"
Benitsubasa simply nodded as Natsuo turned to leave the training facility. When he was gone, Benitsubasa's smile faded. Her false cheer replaced with a irritated frown. "Damit... what's wrong with me?" she growled as her hands balled into fists. "I'm so close to getting everything I wanted, and I'm about to blow it."
She shot her right hand forward. The right-handed punch flew straight and true, fast and with enough force to shatter bone. "And I snapped at Natsuo. Natsuo!! I... I never snapped at Natsuo before..." she moaned irritably as she brought her hands to her forehead and tilted her head downward and shook it. Within her mind's eye she saw Natsuo's smiling face... His cool gaze as he went about his business... His small smile when he was in his element... Even his stylish hair...
Everything about him screamed COOL to her. And he was going to be her Ashikabi soon. Her husband! The utter cherry on top of her dreams coming true. Despite one glaring flaw that she was absolutely sure she could fix he was all she ever wanted in an Ashikabi. This was all she ever wanted in her life. To have a cool, handsome Ashikabi and to be able to battle to her hearts content in the Sekirei game.
But that... was a month ago.
That was before she ran into...
HIM.
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Ghostface211 presents...
In Association with Wheeljack...
A Veiled Moon What If Senario...
Benitsubasa has a problem...
Comments, Constructive Criticism, and MST 3000's can go to ghostface211@gmail.com
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One Month Ago...
Bentsubasa strolled down the streets of Teito with a confindent walk and a bright smile on her face, unmindful of the looks she received no doubt due to her hair and figure, she was certain. She was not in her Disciplinary Squad uniform this day but in more rather mundane clothing, or about as mundane as a simple tee shirt and blue jeans combo from a high end store to go along with a warm overcoat and pink wool boots to combat the cold winter air. Bags of clothing from the hottest stores this section of Teito had to offer swung to and fro in both hands as she happily entertained thoughts on how she'd cure Natsuo of his little... problem.... that had a small chance of having problems when it was time for her to be winged. No doubt, one look at her in one of the items she had in her bags and that hottie of a man would proclaim her his forever and take her. She just needed one last thing to push it over the top.
She giggled aloud at that, bringing both hands to her face, which would block her sight momentarily if not for the fact that she had closed her eyes as she laughed, daydreams already in place and now a small formality before final victory! After all, she was Sekirei Number One-Hundred and Five. The pretty, powerful package known as Benitsubasa. There was nothing she could not fix nor no enemy she could defeat if she put her mind to it and used all of her strength. She was all but assured to be the next member of the Third Disciplinary Squad; the one that would watch over the Sekirei Game itself and the first one that would have an Ashikabi.
'Ahhhhhh~ Natsuo-saamaaaa'
Her mood only conitinued to climb as she reached her destination. There was no where to go but up from here.
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Elsewhere...
Ichigo let out an irritated groan as he stood outside in the cold winter night, his hands rubbing his arms for warmth. "Damit, what the hell is taking her so long?" he grumbled irritably. It hat been about two hours since he had put his latest apartment hunt to an end for this weekend, and true to his word he had returned to Izumo to check in on Uzume. Not long after, she had somehow convinced him to take her out on a night on the town. He was hesitant at first, and at first his fears were alleviated as she brought him to a nice out of the way spot for dinner. They even managed to have a nice conversation about what they had been doing the past week, and he even laughed at a story she had about Kagari and a rare irriate client of his.
It was fortunate the story ended without incident, as it would be awkward to harass the host club worker about it when he retured later. In spite of himself, the time they spent together was relaxing in a way. And more than once he found himself enjoying their time together. He actually forgot about the events that brought them together in the first place and simply saw it as a man and a woman enjoying themselves and having a good time.
Dare he say it... he was actually having a date and enjoying it.
So of course that had to come to a stop.
"I knew it was to good to be true," He grumbled again as he glared at the shop Uzume had disappeared into some time ago. A shop that was one of the places that screamed 'no men allowed.' At least no married men allowed... And even though Uzume claimed that they were married, ('Right...', his mind would scoff) there was no way in hell he would be caught dead going into a lingerie botique. He'd rather fight off Aizen, Yammy, Grimjaww, and sad clown arrancar by himself with his hands tied behind his back and no Bankai than go into that den of femininity.
"And I can't belive she wanted me to come with her." he snorted. "Model my ass." He let off a sneeze, and gave the store another irritated glance as he caught another cloud of warmth that sped away from him from his sneeze as he rubbed his arms. "Shit, might as well go inside until she's done in there."
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"Thank you for your patronage!"
Benitsubasa nodded twice with a happy sound of acknowledgement and bent down to grab all of her bags and nearly skipped her way to the exit. Lost in the euphoria of her daydreams with the hot little number she just purchased that she swung the door open and plowed into an near immovable object, both stumbling outside. She yelped as her foot had caught into something that caused her to twist and all, a few of her items falling around her and out of the bags.
Her breath caught as some of those items hit the cold hard and in some spots wet ground before her temper started to flare and the urge to kill began to bubble. Eyes twitching, her fists clenched as she brought herself up into a crouching position, one arm rested on a knee while a fist was held to the ground.
'I'm gonna kill the poor sap who did this! All my work for Natsuo ruined by this....this....'
"Sorry 'bout that," came a deep male voice. "Didn't see you there."
So it was a male. Deluded fool. Only one man could touch her!
"Didn't see me there?!" she growled as she quickly stood up and balled her fists and twirled around, ready to lay into him, her mind telling her it was likely some wretched, poor fat otaku who wanted to peak into the lingerie store.
"How dare you- you....you...," she instantly halted and started to choke.
He was tall. A bit taller than Natsuo with brown eyes that looked at her in concern. Atop his head was a bit of a spiked mess of hair, but it suited him extremely well, his bangs stopping short of his eyes sans a bit that fell a bit lower at the bridge of his nose. But the most amazing thing was the color of his hair, standing out as much as her's did, a bright shock of orange that screamed 'LOOK AT ME' at this... this.. this...
The poor fat otaku image burned away like a flash flare as her mind saw this.. this....
'OHMYGOD, HE'S A HOTTIE!" her mind screamed at her as her body and heart began to heat up. Caught so off guard she fell limply to her knees in shock and stayed there with her mouth and eyes agape.
Ichigo blinked as the girl in front of him starred at him in wide eye shock. Almost as if she was starring into the face of god. "Uh.... are... are you ok?
"N..." she muttered.
"N?" Ichigo repeated.
"N... not... not at...all," she managed to get out, her voice weak and light as her body began heating up to a point that she was sure that the snow underneath her was going to melt.
"Do you want me to call someone?" he asked, concern entering his voice. "A doctor? Your parents? A friend?"
"N..no.. thank you," she got out, her voice still very light.
"Are you sure?" Ichigo asked again. "You don't look so good. I really think you should see someone."
"I... I'm f-fine..." she gasped. "I... just n... need to sit sitll for a sec..."
Ichigo frowned slightly, "You're sure?" she nodded and Ichigo sighed. "Fine then. Sorry 'bout bumpin into ya."
"Hey Ichigo~!" Chirped Uzume as she walked behind him. "I'm done."
"Super," Ichigo grumbled as he turned to his sekirei. "Let's go."
"Sure thing," she nodded before looking down to see a girl staring at his back, her eyes still wide in shock. Something in her mind gnawed at her that she should know this girl, but the different clothing along with the gaping open mouth and wide eyes averted any recognition she would have made otherwise. "What's with her?"
Ichigo shrugged, "Dunno. She says she's fine though."
Uzume shrugged back, "If you say so, then let's get a move on." She clutched his arm, and dragged him away from her sister sekirei. "The movie starts in a half-hour and I forgot its a premiere! We gotta go now to get in line!"
"Premiere?" His mind racked for more information on what was premiering this week but drew a blank. "I hope this ain't some chick flick, Uzume."
"Oh you'll love it, trust me." Uzume replied as she pulled him along, their voices trailing off before long as they disappeared into the thick crowd. Back near the door to the lingeire shop Benitsubasa remained unaware as she continued to stare off into the space Ichigo stood moments ago. A small crowd gathering around the shell shocked sekirei with her bags and items strewn about her.
Finally she blinked.
"Oh... oh damn," she grumbled as her body continued to remain warm. "This... this is not good," she muttered as a hand came to her heart, pounding so hard it felt like it would burst through her chest. She took in a deep shuddering breath as she brought her legs tightly together as her mind replayed that man's image.
"Hey?" a voice called out. "Are you okay?"
She then suddenly stood up, looked around and to the crowds shock quickly grabbed her things and jumped high into the air, trying to get to high ground.
'Where'?
She looked around, bags in her arms as her mouth continued to suck in large gasps of air.
'Where'?!
That... that... wonderful...
No...
She bent to her knees as she tried to bring up Natsuo's face before it was burned away by the image of that wonderful orange-haired man's face.
Again she stood and grabbed her things as she began to jump to different rooftops to look around, at one point removing her jacket; her body so hot the cold air wasn't helping any as she looked to and fro into the sea of people below, desperately searching for an orange color.
'No...'
Again, moments later found herself on a new rooftop, again scanning the grounds below.
'Where?'
And without thinking she dropped down, ignoring the gasps and screams of people from where she landed, not caring about the cracks and cratering of the ground below. As if a drop from 6 stories up mattered...
But still...
She raced for hours, looking from shop to shop, street to street, almost car to car.
...no sign of the orange haired man.
Finally, she found herself flat against some rooftop, where she didn't care, all that she could think about was that she couldn't find him...
And trying to deal with the fact that she was reacting....
Her body, hot, her heart pounding, her mind a wretched mess with one man on her mind...
And it wasn't Natsuo.
She curled into a ball on the roof, not caring at the snowfall, the flakes instantly watering as they neared her skin as her arms covered her head.
She shook, in some cases violently as tears fell as thoughts about her future and Natsuo conflicted with the loss of that orange haired man and an overwhelming desire to be whatever he wanted.
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