Chapter 5 - "To Stand Tall Or To Die Standing?"

Impossible.

A Fantasy.

These words and many more come to mind. Karasuba, the black Sekirei. Haihane, Sekirai number one-o-four. And, a pink-haired Sekirei named Benitsubasa. These people, these terms, they're not from the real world.

No, it's best to say that they lie in the realm of fantasy. This can't be real, can it? But, I can say the same thing about psychic powers, about being transported across the world and made to fight robots.

About crushing a person into a tiny ball with just my mind.

Fantasy or not, I can't leave this burning question of mine unanswered. The cold talons of fear grip my back. If this is that world, then Kurasuba is not someone we can take out right now. We've had these powers for a little more than a day and barely know how to fight. It's a miracle that we've even gotten this far.

But her? From what little I remember, she's a monster. She's someone that wouldn't hesitate to run us through with her sword just because it'd be fun. I'm not going to give these people my freedom, not after the hell we endured just to escape.

I will not get on my knees and become their dog, not again.

Yet, facing her out in the open without a plan is suicide, at least for now. What we need is to compromise. But first, I have to make sure.

"Y-Yes! We require assistance!" the agent shouts into her collar again. Like I thought, there has to be some sort of mic in there or something. This means the one she was talking to was...

...

I take a breath and look at the girl in front of me. Without care for decency, she turns, noticing my gaze.

"Are you feeling better, Benitsubasa?" I ask, casually addressing the pink-haired girl. Not a single soul has said her name, at least I don't think so. Neither the agent nor the girl we're currently restraining said it.

"H-Huh? Y-Yeah?" she looks away, cheeks slightly red. "J-Just a bit tingly and dizzy."

"One-o-five?! What the hell are you doing?!" The agent shouts. "Get your shit together and attack!" She jabs her finger at Hans and me. "Those people just took out one-o-four!"

There's no doubt about it. This isn't our home anymore, is it? Though, that was kind of obvious when these girls showed up and started pulling off supernatural feats.

We're truly, unmistakably alone here. It's just Hans and me.

And there's nothing more terrifying than that, not even Karasuba's supposed impending arrival.

"H-Huh? B-But she's fine!" Benitsubasa casually waves off the order, pointing to Haihane. The restrained Sekirei nods, a resigned expression on her face.

"I've been better," she grumbles in monotone. "Why are you naked?"

"Na-" Benitsubasa looks down at herself, then to the people around her, then back to herself. An ear grating shriek bursts from her lips. She falls to the ground, covering herself up and sending a glare in my direction.

"W-What the hell happened?" she roars, looking around. The gears in her head begin to turn and I blow a sigh. The fight is over, though it's going to get much worse If we don't try and de-escalate it.

I step forward, a weak, nervous smile on my face.

"Allow me to explain." All eyes turn to me. Some are filled with curiosity, others with rage, and some with... embarrassment? I guess I'd be embarrassed to be seen naked too. "But first, here, cover yourself with this."

It's a simple enough matter to pluck the curtains from the upstairs windows and coil them around Benitsubasa's naked form. Telekinesis really is a handy power.

I scarcely remember anything about this world, aside from the very basics and some of the characters. Sekirei, the mad man running the wicked death game, and the protagonists. I don't think I ever finished it either.

I might as well be lost in a forest with a single page from a survival pamphlet at this point.

"T-Thanks, I guess," she answers, cheeks a tingling cherry-red. An odd heat begins to swell within my chest as I look at her, but it doesn't feel like it's coming from me. The instant I turn to the agent, it starts to fade, only to return when I glance back at Benitsubasa. It's not normal, and the strangest part is that I can sort of feel what direction she's in. It's not the same sensation as Hans's psychic aura or Haihane's.

Is this yet another one of my powers? Something to investigate later, that's for sure.

"I guess I should start from the beginning, but first, a show of good faith."

I motion to Hans and have the plants holding Haihane down recede into the ground. He nods and cautiously gets off the girl's back. Her claws are still very much lethal weapons. A single slice would probably be enough to bisect a normal person.

"Thanks," she says to Hans. "That was very uncomfortable." A yawn slips from her lip, and as she raises a hand to cover her mouth, Hans lets out a small warning.

"You'll cut your face!"

She stops, glancing at her claws then back to him.

"Oh... yeah, you're right." She nods. "Thanks again."

Is she that much of an airhead? Or maybe she just has a bad memory? Either case, I need to get this mess cleared up right now before the crazy sword maniac that loves to fight gets here. Why was she like that again?

...

I guess I won't be talking my way out of a fight...

With a sigh, I step forward and offer the wounded agent a hand up. She glares at me, but that quickly changes once I tap her hand and heal the wounds.

"Look, let's all just calm down and I'll explain."

Her glare never drops, but she does consider my words.

"Alright. Start talking," she grumbles and turns to Benitsubasa. "But first, who winged you."

Benitsubasa blinks and tilts her head in confusion. She reaches behind her back and gently touches the nape of her neck. Come to think of it, I did notice a little tattoo there.

...

Wait...

Her cheeks heat up and she looks away.

"He kinda saved me, so I think it's him?" the petite Sekirei mumbles. "I can't really remember, but he feels like what an Ashikabi should be, I think?"

Her eyes rise to meet mine.

"Do you remember what happened?"

The agent's eyes go wide.

"What?! But aren't you a Sekirei?! How can a Sekirei be an Ashikabi?"

Oh...

My gaze drilled into Benitsubasa. I could feel her now, more than ever before. As our eyes met, her heartbeat bounced around within my mind; together, as one. She wanted an answer, and words would suffice. Yet, no words left my lips.

I seized the faint link between us. It had always been there, invisible and tickling the back of my mind. I could see it now in all of its glory. A path of pink, soft cherry blossoms. The cheerfully chirping of a single bird could be heard If I listened closely.

Our minds brushed against one another for just a second, yet it felt like an eternity. I didn't need words. As if experiencing the dream again- the moment in which our bond was formed, she smiled.

An echo resonated deep inside me. She was... happy, but frustrated. Annoyed, yet gleeful. The feelings slowly dimed until they were nothing but a tiny buzzing in the back of my head, just like the very powers I used.

"I'm not a Sekirei," I turned away from her, staring straight at the agent. "I'd think you'd know that, but I can also understand how hard that can be to believe."

What else could I be? What other conclusions could she have come to? That I'm just a normal guy that suddenly developed psychic powers that rival the humanoid weapons known as "Sekirei?" No. Between the two, the simplest answer would be that I'm an anomaly in the system. But that couldn't be further from the truth.

"Oh? Then what are you?!" The woman hisses.

Karasuba was likely on her way. The black Sekirei- she who could cleave buildings in half with a single swing of her sword, or at least I think she could. The specifics of this world are like a hazy image in an even blurrier mirror. Could they even do something like that? From what I remember, they couldn't rip people in half with just a punch, but I've no doubts Benitsubasa could easily punt a person's head off.

...

It's no good. I can't remember. Hans and I could take out Haihane with a bit of difficulty, but from what I remember, she wasn't exactly sitting at the top of the totem pole. If it took both of us to beat her, then Karasuba would likely make her look like a one-armed, one-legged child.

We've had our powers for two days. We can't hope to beat her, at least not right now. The smart play is to bide our time until we're strong enough that not a single soul in this world can hurt us. Until then, we need to watch where we walk. Even then, there's no telling what that monster will do. Gaining her attention is about as bad as letting her see us as insignificant. Both paths could lead to an early grave, but which one can help us more?

"That's not all that important right now. What I am is someone that's not a threat to you."

I answer.

"Look, I was on my way home last night when I saw her fighting against some robot."

"Oh! Yes, that did happen," Benitsubasa says with a grumble. "Went to check out the place like I was told, found the robot stomping on some Sekirei's head." Her skin crawls and she gives a sour look. "Shoved my foot so far up its ass it was spitting out gears."

I hold back a chuckle. Yeah, that's about right.

"Then I saw him," she says, pointing at me. "I was going to go restrain him and ask if he had anything to do with it, but then I was attacked."

"It was a spear of Ice," I say, finishing her sentence without so much as a stumble. The words flowed from my mouth so easily that I questioned whether or not If she was the one talking. She looked just as surprised as me, yet there was also a hint of curiosity in her eyes.

"I stopped it with my powers and fought off the attacker, but both of us got hurt pretty badly."

"I-Is that why I was naked?" Benitsubasa asks with a huff, pulling the curtains tighter around her body. That does little to help, and in fact, it just gives me a better view of all her curves. She's not the most developed of girls, but that has a charm of its own.

"Yeah," I say. "Our clothes were shredded and it was my good friend Hans who dragged us back home after he found us."

Speaking of Hans, he seems to be reprimanding Haihane about her claws. He's already got a nick on his fingers, though I have no idea when that happened. As for the Sekirei herself, she's just nodding along to everything he's saying with a lazy expression on her face. Is she just doing that so he'll stop talking sooner?

Who knows.

"We didn't know if you were the ice-person's allies, so we lied."

An annoyed, yet understanding grumble rolled off the woman's tongue. She sent a blistering glare at me and then let out a sigh.

"I'm assuming you healed her with the same ability you patched my hand up with?"

"Yes." They know about the telekinesis and that one, but like hell would sooner freeze over before I tell her anything else. We are not friends and I'd like to keep things that way, thank you very much.

She nods to herself and dusts her clothes off.

"With all of that in mind, I can understand your actions."

"Good, but now I'd like to ask you a question."

She raises a brow and gives me the floor.

"Why the hell did you try and shoot me in the head?" That's a fucking horrible thing to do, no matter the reason.

"Just like you assumed we were potential threats to her life, I thought the same about you," she says with a shrug. "I'm not going to apologize, but I will say It was a lapse in my judgement."

...

Bitch. Can't even say she's sorry for trying to kill me.

"I-"

A sudden, incomprehensible chill smashes down on me. No, not just me, but everyone in the area. It feels like my lungs are flooded with water; like I've just fallen into the ocean and touched its cold, dark bottom.

"You better have a good reason for calling me."

The voice is like a searing knife against my spine. I realize It's not water in my lungs, but blood. The woman that waltzes right up to us stinks of it. Every pore, every strand of hair and every scrap of skin is drenched in the foul odour. The whispers of the dead cling to her and their screams reverberate within my mind If i play close enough attention.

"At least you managed to find her." Karasuba enters the field with a disappointed scowl and the eyes of a shark looking for its next meal.

"So? I'm assuming these two were the ones giving you so much trouble?" she asks the agent, her lips falling sourly. "Can't even take care of two tiny, pathetic human children?"

She draws her weapon and the weight bearing down on my shoulder's doubles.

"Should I just clean up the trash you failed to sweep away?"

Not even here for more than a minute and she's already calling for blood.

A true monster.