chapter 15

What had been just a few days felt far longer. We were ripped from our homes and tossed into a hostile universe. Honestly, If I'd been by myself, I don't know what I would have done.

Though I barely knew Hans, he'd been an anchor of sorts linking me back to my old world. And then we learned about our powers and which world we were in.

Sekirei. A half-forgotten show from my childhood. I barely remembered the plot and only the characters really stood out to me. Yet, this was our reality. We were stuck here and along with us was some kind of robotic army.

I didn't know where to go from here. All I could do was keep walking forward and taking everything as it came.

I just hoped our path lead towards warm light and not a dark abyss.

—————————

"You sure have been busy lately, haven't you?" Hans mused with a small smile. The two of us were sitting on "our" house's living room couch. The massive TV in front of us was a spectacle of colors and lights.

He was horrible at hiding the smirk, but I wasn't the best at that stuff either.

"Stuff happened, I guess," I said with a soft cough as my cheeks heated up. The weight of the plastic controller in my hand was a familiar comfort. Though, Hans seemed a lot more at home with the console's controller.

He chuckled.

"There's nothing wrong with that. Though, where is Benitsu… er-"

"Benitsubasa," I finished with a small smile.

He coughed.

"Yeah, never was the best at pronouncing long names or stuff. I get it right every now and then," he said with a smile. "That girl gets this really grouchy look on her face if you say it wrong."

I couldn't stop the grin splitting across my face. Yeah, that definitely sounded like her.

"She definite-"

I lost focus for a second and Hans took the opportunity to kick my ass in the game.

"You're pretty good at these," I said. He shrugged.

"The games here are really something, but they're also incredibly… unimaginative?" He hummed. "Stories are kind of meh, but the mechanical and graphical sides are amazing."

"So that's what you've been studying in your room?"

He coughed and looked away sheepishly.

"I tried learning more about the world, but the thing that's like google translate here can only get me so far," he said with a sigh. "I did order us some phones though."

He paused and winced.

"You'll have to pay for it, so sorry about that."

Oh?

"I mean, I don't mind. Having a phone for everyone else here would be good," I said.

He nodded and the downcast expression on his face dimmed slightly.

"Yeah. So the conglomerate, company, or whatever it is that's hosting the Sekirei games- MBI, that is, has its fingers in every pie. Medicine, technology, heck, they even sell cars."

I nodded.

"I think the show said something like that."

Hans' brow furrowed.

"Yeah, but they literally are in everything. TV, the subway, and such. This whole city is basically just a big spider web they made. What I'm trying to say is- they probably know exactly where we are at all times."

…

That would make a lot of sense, yeah.

"I think it'd probably be safe to say that the only place we won't be spied on is the inside of our own house."

"What about outside? Like, the backyard?"

He shook his head.

"The city has a few drones for the news and stuff. I'm pretty sure it'd be easy enough to have one of those spy on us."

Ah shit. Basically, "training" outside would be like giving them all our secrets.

"Thankfully, I've been snooping around the house while you were going out."

"It sounds like you found something."

He nodded.

"There's this really big underground bunker in the basement. I think there's a spot there where we can train without being seen."

Problem solved!

"I-"

There was a knock on the door. Hans stopped talking and got up.

"That's probably the delivery guy."

Phones, huh. I still barely knew anything about the one I'd gotten. Maybe I could get someone good with tech to look at it? Wasn't there a Sekirei like that?

———————

"For such an advanced place, these phones look so old," I said with a laugh. They were the sort of flip phone I saw on commercials back when I was like ten!

Hans chuckled and flipped his open, shutting it a second later and then opening it again.

"I always kinda liked this style. By the time I finally got a phone, these weren't made anymore."

The smile on his face carried a childish joy I rarely felt.

"I guess we'll have to get Benitsuba to help us find provider-"

The phone in his hand started to ring.

I stared at it, as did he.

"Might as well," he said with a nervous laugh. "It shouldn't have a sim card, but still-"

He flipped the phone open and answered the call.

"Hello and congratulations everyone!"

A tall, slender man with white hair greeted us. It was obvious who he was. That flamboyant white suit of his all but spelled it out.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I'm spending time talking to all your pretty faces, aren't you?"

"I don't think it's just an us kinda thing," Hans pointed out.

Yeah, I thought so as well. Was it a live broadcast?

"Now, let cut straight to the chase!"

He snapped his fingers and the screen changed, showing a map of… the city?

"I had a nice, tidy little plan. Thing, however, have changed!"

Again, the phone screen switched to show a young girl. You blinked. There was something familiar about her…

"The first pair of Sekirei and Ashikabi to capture this girl and bring her to me will be given a great reward!"

He brought a finger to his lip and started humming.

"How about… information on some of your soon-to-be opponents?! Maybe money?! Or a simple request?!"

He paused and grinned.

"Have fun~"

And just like that, the broadcast ended, leaving you with a map of the city.

What a damned flamboyant ass.

"Did she look familiar to you?" I asked Hans as the two of us rushed out of our house.

"You're asking a guy who doesn't even remember the name of the main character of the show, let alone most of the girls…"

I rolled my eyes.

"It's fine, I don't either, but I think it was Minato or something."

Was she a Sekirei? Was she some other important girl from the show? Hell if I knew. What I did know was that letting the mastermind of the whole alien-fighting tournament get what he wanted was a bad idea. It was obvious he either wanted the girl or wanted people to fight over her. The first was easy enough to stop.

We just had to get to her before anyone else.

———————

Do you know what sucked? Not having a phone to call someone you really wanted to get in contact with. Were this a world where telepathic links weren't a thing, Benitsubasa would be nowhere to be found. Thankfully, psychic powers were bullshit.

Hans and I ran as quickly as we could towards the designated spot on the map. I couldn't really speak to Benitsubasa through our link, but I could send her a general idea of what I wanted.

Come.

She'd be racing across town soon enough, probably guided to me by our strange bond. At least, that was what I was counting on. We never really tested it out at such long ranges.

"Should be just up ahead!" Hans said. The two of us had leaped across buildings, over walls, and through backyards. Neither of us had so much as worked up a sweat. It really showed how superhuman we could be.

I nodded and stopped atop the two-story house next to him, staring at his new phone.

"Did all that running jog your memory?" Hans asked as he looked around the area for our mystery girl.

"Not really," I said with a shrug. "But I'm pretty sure the girl isn't a Sekirei. The ones I remember were pretty memorable. Then again, maybe she's just one we weren't shown?"

Or I forgot.

"Well, you won't have to wait long to find out," Hans said and pointed towards a back alley. "She's right over there."

More importantly, it looks like she's being cornered by a pair of guys and girls. Sekirei? They're none that I knew of.

"We should-"

Before I could say anything, Hans jumped down. I knew I was a bit reckless, but he didn't even wait!

I smiled and jumped after him.

That was fine. I was going to go help her anyways.

—————

"Look, just come with us and you don't have to worry about anything."

"Yeah. Scream and we'll have to gag you or something."

We landed between the two guys. Both seemed to be in their late twenties. One was bald and had this aloof look on his face. His friend was about a head shorter than him and had hair long enough to reach his shoulders.

The two were certainly a pair, that was for sure. Whatever they were talking about, it was clearly enough to terrify the girl behind us.

"Sto-" Hans didn't even get a word out before one of the girls lunged forward. Not that they would understand him anyways.

The girl had long, flowing auburn hair that reached down and skirted the top of her hips. Her figure could be described in a single word- voluptuous.

She was quick as lightning, crossing the distance in the blink of an eye. The long, eastern dress she wore glided through the wind, giving just about everyone a good look at her underwear. As beautiful as she was, this rose had thorns. Her arm lashed out as if thrusting something at his head.

Hans was faster.

He twisted his head out of the way, avoiding the shimmering spear of light that formed within the girl's grip. The flurry of thrust and swipes that followed barely gave Hans pause, and when he saw his chance, he took it.

He rushed forward, slamming the bottom of his palm into her nose and then sweeping her legs right from under her.

"W-What the heck?"

The other Sekirei shouted. Ah, right. Hans was easily cleaning up the first, so it was probably best if I took her out too.

Now how-

The girl reached into her short-shorts and pulled out a pair of golden rings. Unlike her friend, she was short, though not as short as Benitsubasa.

"Take this!" the blond Sekirei shouted as she aimed the fist-sized rings at me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end as a vision of the future struck me.

There was a piercing shriek and an invisible hammer of sound. It struck my skull, and like a melon dropped from the top of an apparent building, it popped.

Yeah. No.

My fingers twitched faster than she could react, a solid missile of metal smashed into her side like a bus running a red light. I made sure to keep the dumpster from splattering her, but even then, Sekirei were tough as nails.

She crashed into the alley's wall, leaving behind a series of cracks that resembled a spider's web. Even then, she still wobbled her way back onto her feet.

"A-Ashikabi… r-ru-"

I smashed a trashcan over her head, silencing her for now. If she could use sound-based attacks, it was for the best, if a bit cruel. Besides, It wasn't nearly as heavy as a dumpster and I definitely put less force into this one!

I hoped she'd be fine.

The two guys shared a look and then turned to Hans. Unlike me, he'd only choked out his opponent. The moment she lost her footing it was over.

Come to think of it, would that have been a better way to do this? I'd have to practice a force choke or something for less violent takedowns.

I took a breath and tried to address the two guys. I barely knew any Japanese, but I could at least tell them to take their Sekieri and run.

Turns out I didn't even need to do that. The two turned and bolted, leaving their "partners" on the ground.

Boy, was I glad I wasn't a Sekirei. It felt like rolling the dice on finding a decent Ashikabi, that was for sure.

"T-That went better than expected," Hans said with a nervous laugh. "I honestly didn't think the move I looked up would be so good!"

He said, getting off the Sekirei on the ground.

"I guess having super strength helps," I said with a laugh. "Can't say my win was nearly as clean."

Defeat by dumpster just doesn't sound as cool.

"H-Hello?" the girl behind us said in broken English. Her accent was exactly what someone would expect to hear from a Japanese person who'd never spoken the language.

"T-Thank you," she said with a small bow.

Ah, right.

Now we had to figure out what to do with her.