The First Victory!

The four of us—Sanna, her Ashikabi, Yashima, and I—have moved away from the street. The action of Yashima and Sanna was too eye-catching and had grabbed the attention of some passersby.

Since Sanna's Ashikabi is a useless beta, I proposed the idea to the bullheaded Sanna to move the fight somewhere else. Luckily, Sanna accepted my proposal.

We are presently inside an empty warehouse in the northwest area of Shinto Teito. Since West is known for many abandoned and in-middle-of-construction sites, we have easily found a good stage for the two sexy alien girls to duke it out.

As of now, there is only me and Yashima. We are in an empty room adjacent to a wide room set for this match. Sanna and her Ashikabi, whose name is Shinji, are in the other room. We all have agreed to have 15 minutes for discussing tactics with our respective partners.

Previously, Sanna looked very confident, bordering to arrogant when I negotiated about this preparation time. It raised my confidence in Yashima's chance to win this match. I want to take advantage of Sanna's arrogance.

"Rio-sama, do we need to have a talk about this fight? I'm confident that I can win! No, I shall win to show the world my love for Rio-sama!" Yashima declared. Her expression was determined.

"Now, now, Yashima. You sounded very arrogant there. Having confidence is good. But, never mistake arrogance with confidence. Arrogance begets hubris, and many powerful people have lost because of their hubris."

"I understand, Rio-sama."

"Good. Never look down on your opponent and give your all in this fight."

Although I am presenting a confident mask, I'm feeling helpless and anxious inwardly. I feel so useless because I cannot help Yashima in this fight.

If only I have a higher stats, around the average S rank stats, I will not let Yashima fight alone. There is also my pride as a man that is hurt by letting a girl fighting for me. Her true nature as a powerful alien be damned!

"Ano, Rio-sama. Could I ask a question?" Yashima called me out suddenly, snapping me out of my inner conflict.

"Yes? What's it?"

"When I told you about the Sekirei Game, you didn't seem surprised. You even asked about my MBI Card before I told you about it. Do you already know about this Game before becoming my Ashikabi?"

"Well, I guess you can think it like that. There's a rumor about pretty girls fighting all over the places in this city already." I gave her a white lie.

I am not ready to tell her I know what is happening from anime and manga and I am someone who had died, had gotten a system, and is not really from this world.

"You were lying, Rio-sama."

I freeze when I hear that. When I look at Yashima, I see her serious expression. I become speechless because of how sharp she is.

"Rio-sama, I'm your Sekirei. After being winged by you, we are connected. Also, I don't know how to explain it, but I know that you've lied, no, not that! You're hiding something and trying to mislead me…I think."

Hearing Yashima's explanation, a wry smile appears in my face. How could I forget about this? I remember that there is a metaphysical and spiritual connection between Sekirei and Ashikabi. In fact, when an Ashikabi dies, his Sekirei will get deactivated, or in other words, that Sekirei will biologically die. That is how deep this bond is…

I sigh in resignation and then resolve myself. I look into Yashima's eyes. Now that I see her closely, she looks different from her miserable canon counterpart. Granted, I have helped her from being forcefully winged by that bastard. I should realize this sooner.

"Yashima, I promise to you that I'll tell you everything later. For now, let's focus on this fight. I don't want you to leave me because you lose this fight. Understood?"

"Understood! I swear that I shall win this fight!"

Yashima gives me a resolute nod and looks at me with a determined gaze. If this is a shonen manga, there would be fire lit in her eyes.

"Alright. Since you will give your best, I'll help you as best as I can. I'll let you use your Prayer. You must use it immediately and knock your enemy out A.S.A.P.!"

"Really?" Yashima perks up in anticipation, "You allow me to use my Prayer in this fight? But, my Prayer is like a trump card that I should use when I'm in a pinch, not at the beginning of a match…" Yashima looks uncertain at the end of her explanation.

"Yes. I feel that Sanna is an arrogant girl. I don't think she will expect that."

"Rio-sama, you're sly."

"I don't care if I'm called sly or evil as long as I can help you win. We are Ashikabi and Sekirei. We are basically a pair of lovers. I won't let you leave me alone because you lost this fight!"

"Rio-sama…" Yashima looks like she loses her breath, awed by my declaration.

We look at each other eyes, and our faces are getting closer. Then, I claim her soft lips and kiss her deeply, ravishing her inner mouth.

"Mmh…Muach…Hmph…" Yashima made a lewd sound.

I feel excited and aroused. I increase the intensity of our kiss and pour all my passions into her. I grope her breast and knead them as she drinks my saliva greedily. There is a light from her ethereal wings, but I ignore it.

It is amazing. My ex-girlfriend was never eager to have intimate action with me. Our passionate exchange makes my past experience feels stale.

A while later, we pull back our heads, and there is a glistening string of saliva that is still connecting our lips. At this moment, Yashima's light wings have receded, and there is only a thin aura covering her petite yet enticing figure.

I watch her silently, wide-eyed. My heart skips and beats. I am mesmerized by her beauty and feel lucky to get her as my Sekirei. It is when I realize that I have fallen in love with her, smitten by her gorgeous appearance and deep love.

Resting her left knuckle on top of her cleavage, she closes her eyes and has a serene expression. Then, she speaks up in a serene voice:

"The hammer of my pledge! Shatter the enemy of my Ashikabi!"

Her eyes snap open, and I see a blazing conviction and unbending resolution there.

Then, we leave the room. I follow Yashima, watching her small yet dependable back. I use Inspect Status on her and find that her Power is fixed at S rank. I feel confident. I believe that Yashima will not lose, and perhaps…

"Hey, Yashima!"

"Yes?" She turns around to face me with a confused expression.

"If you win, I'll reward you tonight."

"Reward? What reward?"

"Let's have sex to officiate our relationship."

Her intensity sharply increases to a scary level. I think if she faces off Karasuba, no, even adding Miya in the unholy mix, she will not even falter and fights them steadfastly. Well, she is going to lose if facing those two monsters, though. At the very least, only for the time being. In the future, she can grow stronger and surpass Karasuba and Miya.

"I shall win no matter what!" She declared resolutely.

.

.

.

Yashima and I come to the wide space in the middle of the abandoned warehouse. I find Sanna in the center of the soon-to-be battlefield with an aloof and haughty expression. It seems like she does not even think about the possibility of losing.

Meanwhile, Shinji is standing at the other side, glaring at Sanna. When he sees us, he throws another pleading look at us. It is as if he asks us to defeat her.

Strange… I am curious about his story. I feel like he does not have a good relationship with his Sekirei.

After I shifted my attention to Sanna, I use Inspect Status on her.

— — —

Unit Name - Sekirei #37 Sanna

Race - Homo-Amor (Sekirei)

Origin - Sekirei Record

Tier - F

EP - 10/10

Vitality - A

Acuity - S

Strength - A

Energy - F

Skill - [Sekirei Physiology - SSS], [Kinetic Manipulation - F], [Physical Reinforcement - F], [Weapon (Halberd) Mastery - E], [Unarmed Combat - E]

— — —

Since I already know about Sekirei Physiology, Physical Reinforcement, and Unarmed Combat skills, I decided to read the detail of the other skills.

— — —

[Kinetic Manipulation - F]

This is an exclusive skill possessed by Sekirei #37, Sanna, which grants the capacity to manipulate kinetic force, but due to the user's low mastery, the user cannot use this effectively and efficiently.

Consumption: 1~Max EP

Rank Up: 100TP

— — —

— — —

[Weapon (Halberd) Mastery - E]: this skill signifies the user's proficiency in wielding a weapon in combat. Due to (Halberd) label, the user's weapon proficiency is focused on Halberd.

Consumption: - (Passive)

Rank Up: 100TP

— — —

From her EP and Energy attributes, it looks like they do have an estranged relationship with her Ashikabi, unlike me and Yashima. Skill-wise, she has a higher rank for Unarmed Combat, but she lacks Household Care that Yashima has. Overall, I feel very confident about Yashima's chance to win. And it's excluding our blitzkrieg plan to take her down.

"Good. You've come. Let's start our fight. I will defeat you to show my mettle in front of my Ashikabi, so he'll open his eyes and change his mind."

Sanna's declaration sounded odd in my ears, but I only raise my brow in bemusement. Yashima, meanwhile, is tilting her head cutely, apparently curious.

"Hey, you two!" Shinji called me and Yashima. After we gave him our attention, he continued with a desperate expression: "Just defeat that crazy woman! I beg you!"

"Huh? Why do you want your Sekirei to lose? Don't you love her?" Yashima asked Shinji, confused.

I have a hunch regarding their situation, but I decided to watch everything go in silence.

"My Ashikabi is blind because he thinks a human woman, a weakling, is worthy of his love. I want to open his eyes and make him realize that I'm a better lover who can love and protect him, unlike that weak woman," Sanna explained haughtily.

"Shut up, you crazy woman!" Shinji shouted in anger. "Don't you dare to insult Rei-chan! Besides, it's your fault that Rei-chan asked to break up with me! She thought that I was cheating on her because of you! I never wanted to enter this bullshit Game, damnit!"

"See. My Ashikabi is delusional. There's no way a weak human girl can match my love and resolve!" Sanna declared arrogantly.

As I have guessed, huh? I thought in resignation and a bit of schadenfreude.

Shinji is so unlucky because a stubborn and unreasonable Sekirei like Sanna reacted to him. He has a girlfriend already, but Sanna does not accept it. She won't accept to lose against a mere human girl. A weakling in her eyes.

Since Sanna is stubborn and unreasonable, she decided to strong-arm Shinji to be her Ashikabi. And because Sanna's physical prowess is higher than Shinji's, he is helpless in Sanna's "tender" mercy.

This is reality. In the source materials, the Ashikabi that were shown were single and beta males, except for some unique individuals like Izumi Higa of the East and Hayato Mikogami of the South. However, the reality is different than fiction. There are many Ashikabi and Sekirei pairs that were not shown in the manga panels or anime screen.

Some of those Ashikabi probably had life and were already in a relationship. If the Sekirei that reacted to them is reasonable, there won't be problems that led up to the tragedy. However, if the Sekirei are stubborn and unreasonable, well, we have an example of how it goes.

I cannot help but feel pity for Shinji and want to help him mind his relationship with his girlfriend despite I know how important the bond between Sekirei and Ashikabi. After all, Sanna was being unreasonable.

If Sanna is like Kazehana who accepted her defeat when Minaka chose Takami over her, I would sympathize and empathize with her. And if she reacts to me afterward, I would like to heal the mental scar inflicted from the rejection of her first reaction. Alas, she's an arrogant, unreasonable bitch…

"Ano, Rio-sama."

I look at Yashima and see her fretful expression. I understand what is troubling her.

"Don't worry about it. I've broken up with my ex-girlfriend long before you enter my life, Yashima," I said honestly and then gave her a comforting smile.

Yashima beams at me, relieved from my words.

"That's good. I was afraid that I've entered your life as a homewrecker."

"Oy! Hammer Girl, are you insinuating I, Sanna, am a homewrecker?!" Sanna shouted, apparently offended.

"Aren't you?" Shinji, Yashima, and I retorted at the same time.

To be honest, it is worthy to be a comedic moment in anime. Alas, this is my (new) life, not a work of fiction!

"Tsk!" Sanna clicked her tongue in displeasure and pointed her halberd at Yashima. "Alright. Stop talking. Let's start fighting!"

"Okay! I'm ready!"

Right after Yashima replied to Sanna, tension fills the interior of the abandoned warehouse. I feel every strand of my hair, except for those that grew out of my scalp, stands up. Beads of sweat cover my forehead and then roll down on my cheeks and nose. My back is wet by how much I am sweating in a short time.

This tension feels surreal for a normal person like me. I remind myself that I must become accustomed to this feeling. It will be me who will fight against powerful opponents in the future! I resolve to grow up and become better!

After an indeterminable time, which felt like an eternity, passed by, Sanna suddenly accelerates toward Yashima. She moves so fast that I can only see a brown and green blur. My eyes are not accustomed to high-speed movements yet. Perhaps, after I raised my Acuity to A rank or above, I can track Sanna's fast and explosive speed.

Within a moment, Sanna appears in front of Yashima with her halberd raised above her head, ready to cut down Yashima. But, my lovely and petite Sekirei also moves in a blur, swinging her hammer at Sanna. It looks like that insanely heavy hammer weighs nothing in her slender and fragile arms. I suppose she is applying her low-ranked Gravity Manipulation skill on it.

'CLANK! CLANK! CLINK! CLANK!'

The collision of their weapons resounded in the abandoned warehouse, rattling my ears. I grit my teeth and focus on their fight.

They move so fast that I can only perceive the blur of brown, green, cream, and gray, and flashes of light reflected by Sanna's halberd and Yashima's hammer.

This is insane! They are insane! This fight is insane! And yet, I feel excitation because I know that I can grow strong as and even stronger than them!

Suddenly, there is a flash of blue followed by Yashima's cute, clear, and sonorous voice declaring the name of her trump card, which she created from the limited mastery of her true power applied on her hammer.

"GRAVITY HAMMEEEEEER!"

"Wha-GUAHK!"

Sanna's shocked shout was cut off abruptly, and the following sound is a loud 'DANG' of Yashima's hammer hitting Sanna's, a whistling 'SWOOSH' of Sanna's body being thrown back so fast, and a flinch-inducing 'BRACK' of Sanna's body as it created a large hole in a wall.

Debris and dust scattered around. Then, silence fills the entire space for a few seconds.

"I win!"

Yashima's confident and clear declaration breaks the silence and is followed by a loud 'BANG! CRACK!'. Her hammer fell on the ground, cracking the concrete floor. Then, my body moves unconsciously, and then I approach her in a hurry.

"Rio-sam-humph!"

Yashima has turned around and is about to call me, but I kiss her mouth without warning.

I feel happy that she won. But, more importantly, I feel relieved that she is fine!

"Mph…Muach…Slurp…Hmph…Muach!"

I hug her soft body strongly. My right hand is behind her head, pulling her deeper into the kiss. My other hand is wrapping her thin waist.

We indulge in a passionate and intimate kiss for a little longer, ignoring the frozen boy who is standing next to a large hole on the wall.