Chapter 8 - "Soft Arms, Tough Skull"

I... I didn't expect that? Why didn't I expect that?! She's a Sekirei, isn't she? Still, I never imagined Benitsubasa to be the sort of person that'd sneak into my bed! She seemed too proud- too much of a tsundere as the trope goes.

Then again, I'm no mind reader. Trying to figure out what a girl thinks is already hard enough! Seriously, this completely caught me off guard!

W-What do I do?

Her hands slowly tighten around my midsection, but not by much. Her touch is gentle and caring, though there's a hint of longing. I swallow my nervousness and hesitation. This is a first, but I can't let myself be petrified by uncertainty. It must have taken a lot of courage for her to do this.

I turn around and our eyes meet. Her pink orbs widen slightly in surprise, but it's the kind of surprise that one normally expects.

"Hey."

Her cheeks take on the same color as her hair. I can feel her heart trying to bursts through her chest. It pounds against mine and after a moment of deliberation, she finally speaks.

"Hey."

Ok. What now?

"H-Hey."

She blinks and furrows her brow.

"Hey?"

...

Someone kill me now. Please. Good god! I feel like sinking my nails into my face and tearing it off out of sheer embarrassment!

A snicker leaves Benitsubasa's lips.

"You're a funny guy, you know?"

Is... is she making fun of me? No. That smile and the sparkle of joy in her eyes. Is she's actually happy?

"Thanks," I answer with a small smile, regaining my "footing" a little bit. The veritable tide of shame and embarrassment threatening to spill over subsides as we look at one another. The sense of comfort and tenderness practically flowing out of her helps too. Being so close to one another, I can practically read her mind at this point if I focus. Not literally, but it sure feels like it. Does our link grow stronger the closer we are? That's actually kind of neat! Maybe we can try and test out if this sort of stuff has any other benefits aside from the whole emotions sen-

Benitsubasa reaches out and grabs my nose.

"Your minds all jumbled," she grumbles with a pout that could put a puppy's stare to shame. I nearly have a heart attack from the cuteness overload. "Is something wrong?"

I clear my throat and shake my head.

"Well, It's not everyday a cute girl sneaks into my bed, you know?"

She raises a brow, cheeks glowing just a tad redder at the compliment.

"I would hope so," she says with a huff. "And just so you know, I don't do this often either."

Oh?

"How often do you do it, then?" I can't help myself. The situation's still a bit embarrassing, but our banter and the feeling of comfort has done quite a lot to break the ice.

Her eyes zero in on my face. Those pink dots of hers narrow into slits as she lets out a small growl.

"This would be my first time," she says the words matter-of-fact way. Benitsubasa raises her head, trying to hold her nose up high at me. Instead, she finds her head striking my chin.

"Ow!"

"Ah!"

The two of us stare at each other. Her cheeks practically light themself on fire as I let out a snicker.

"Shut up or I'll punch you."

I... I can't. I laugh.

With a grumble, Benitsubasa pulls her hand back and lightly punches my shoulder. It doesn't hurt, not really. Nevertheless, I let out a loud hiss and hunch over.

"I think you broke my funny bone!"

She rolls her eyes.

"I don't think you ever had a single one to speak of."

Our whispered laughs echo through the room. It doesn't take very long for us to just talk about random little things. We barely know anything about one another, and while I was hoping to do something like this, I wasn't expecting it to happen in the middle of the night and in my bed. Still, I'm not complaining.

Love- true love isn't something that's just handed out. It's built over time and through interactions; interactions like this. At least, that's what I think. I've never been in love myself, but that sounds about right...

Time slips by. We ask and answer each other's questions, until-

"I... I guess I joined up because I wanted to be strong," she eventually answers. "Karasuba is the strongest. If I could work with her, then maybe I might be able to learn something, you know?"

"Did you?"

She shakes her head.

"She's not a very friendly person," Benitsubasa says with a sigh. "If she's not training, she's out looking for trouble. The few times we did socialize weren't all that great."

"I'm guessing you tried asking her to teach you something?"

The cute Sekirei in my arms gives a small nod.

"She agreed, but her 'lesson' was basically me fighting her." She takes a small breath and looks up at me. "Want to guess how that ended?"

I wince. There's not much I actually know about Karasuba, but I can guess.

"She beat you up?"

"That'd be an understatement," she grumbles. "She beat me in the blink of an eye and said I should practice more."

"Not a very good teacher, then."

"I think even Haihane would make a better teacher." A small chuckle rolls of her lip. "And that's saying a lot, trust me."

At the thought of her friend, Benitsubasa's smile falters. She looks away, eyes taking on a guilty glint.

"I hope she's alright..."

Before I can get another word in, she turns to me.

"So? What about you? What are you hoping to do now?"

"We really didn't have much of a choice coming here," I answer with a sigh. "I told you we were kidnapped, right?"

Hans and I had kept our stories vague because the first thing people think when you tell them you're from another world is not that you're telling the truth. Having powers also doesn't mean it's the truth. People will always go for the simplest, most realistic answer, and that answer normally isn't "another world."

Benitsubasa nods.

"Well, Hans just wants to go home. We're lost and don't know what the hell's going on. Honestly, I just want us to get out of this in one piece."

"I doubt they'll just let you leave the city now," she notes. "MBI is very clingy and when they find something they like, they'll do everything in their power to keep it."

With a shake of her head, she lets out a small yawn.

"I never really paid much attention to all that though. I just want to fight and get strong."

Before I know it, she's buried her face in my chest. Her breathing slows and her words become a mumbled mess. She falls asleep, arms embracing me.

I smile and wrap my own arms around her. Sleep comes for me as well, and soon enough, I slip into unconscious bliss. I dream of a long, flat plain of endless grass. The horizon stretches out endlessly as does the green sea beneath it. I slowly step forward, a small chirping at my shoulder. There, resting on it is a small, pink bird.

Rather than fly, she's decided to throw her lot in with me.

And that single act makes all the difference.

Unfortunately, when I next open my eyes, she's gone- both in the dream and real life.

I guess she was the proud sort, wasn't she?

========

Neither I nor Hans were all that good at cooking, and as it turned out, neither wast Benitsubasa.

"Oh crap! It's on fire!" Hans shouted, eyes going wide and hands raised in the air as they batted the toaster with a towel.

"W-What did you do?!" Benitsubasa shouted, panic guiding her actions as well. She went for the kitchen sink, grabing a glass and filling it with water.

"Me?! Weren't you the one who wanted toast? You're the last one that touched it!"

The two were so consumed in their bickering that the flames soon reached the towel.

"Ah!" Hans let go, dropping it to the floor just as Benitsubasa filled her glass. It was at this point that I finally got a hold of my senses. I reached out and telekinetically picked up the toaster and the towel. In one swift motion, I took them outside and crushed them into a tiny ball. The flames were snuffed out and the danger had passed.

Of course, we were now down a toaster.

Maybe they weren't the only ones panicking...

A bestial roar tore through the silence as the three of us stood outside. All eyes turned to Benitsubasa.

"W-What?" Her stomach growled once more. "L-Look, we're lost the only toaster. How are you guys going to make up for it?

Hans blows a sigh and rolls his eyes.

"You broke it, so normally, I'd think that means you'd be the one to 'make up for it,' right?"

A rush of red stings at her cheeks.

"Fine! I'll cook you up the best-damned breakfast you've ever seen! Just you wait, little man!"

Hans, my man. You're a very smart guy, but sometimes the smartest move is not making one.

Suffice to say, Benitsubasa's "breakfast" was a combination of protein shakes, rations, and lettuce. She even put a bit of salt on top for "flavour."

"Man, this is so good!"

At least she liked it.

Did Sekirei have different taste buds? Like all good questions, I'd not learn the answer for a very long time.

------------

"So we're getting a new toaster after this, right?" Benitsubasa asked, her hands on her hip and that adorable pouty expression of hers on her face.

I chuckled.

"Yeah, so let me know if you feel anything, ok?"

She gave a nod and shut her eyes. I did much the same and reached out with that one power of mine I wasn't so sure about. Before it had let me borrow Hans' advanced perception, so I wanted to see if that could work on Sekirei too.

Like him, I could sort of sense something within Benitsubasa. It was like a weighty stone that refused to budge no matter how much I poked and prodded. Rather than something that could be plucked, it was a fixed structure ingrained into her very being. At least, that's the best representation I could give. Was it her soul? Did souls exist?

"Feeling anything?"

"Yes."

My eyes snapped open and I turned to her.

"I feel very-" Her every word was key. What could it be? "-bored."

And just like that, my hopes fizzled away like a wet balloon.

"So, nothing at all?"

"Nope! I did get a bit of gas, though. I think I'd better go use the bathroom before we head out."

"Yeah, go ahead," I say with a sigh. "I don't think this is going to work or I'd need to put in a lot of effort to even get the tiniest of results."

It's beyond me right now.

"Kay. I'll be back in a bit!"

With that, she skips off back into the house. That leaves just me and Hans.

"So, ready to test out the other part of my guess?"

He grins.

"Stronger powers are always a plus."

I roll my eyes and reach out with my "aura" as we've started to call it. Like before, I find it balling around the small star or essence inside of him.

"That definitely feels weird," he says with a shudder. "Ever have a doctor press something cold against your back? Kinda reminds me of that."

Hmm.

Where before I pulled, this time I pushed a bit of my aura into the tiny twinkle. I feed it, nurture it, and watch as the star blossoms outward.

"Oh!"

Hans' eyes go wide.

"Feels like I just drank a can of red bull or something!"

"Really? Try using your powers!"

Which one was I holding on to? Gah! They all look so similar now! Telling them apart was like trying to tell the difference between an orange and a tangerine!

"I-I think it's the one that's all bubbly?"

"..."

"Dude, are you hearing yourself?"

A blush burns at my cheeks.

"Shut up... just try them all until you can figure out which one it is."

He chuckles.

"Smart. Alright, give me a few moments."

He goes through the motions. First is the accelerated perception, but I'm sure it's not that one. This feels different.

"Nope!"

Next up is his construct power. We both have the same one, but he's already proven to be just a tad more creative with it.

"Oh!"

Where before he could only make simple or slightly complex constructs, now he's holding what looks to be a gun. I'm not the best with them, but I've played my fair share of shooters. It looks like an M1911 but maybe it's a colt 45? No idea, they both kinda look the same to me. Or, wait... are they the same gun? Is that even what they're called?

...

I feel dumb.

"Yeah! This is way easier to use!" Hans smiles and holds the gun straight ahead, aiming at the ground. He pulls the trigger and nearly smacks himself in the face as it fires.

He winces and bristles in shame, dropping the gun and allowing it to vanish into the air.

"Ok... that's definitely a lot harder than people make it out to look."

He turns to me with a grin. In two steps, he's by my side, a hand on my shoulder.

"That's really cool! So you can make my powers stronger?"

I nod.

"Yeah. Might even be able to make mine too, I don't know."

"That's aws-"

"Hey! hands of!" Benitsubasa shouts as she leaps from the second floor, landing right by my side. "He's my Ashikabe, so don't even think about it."

Hans just stares at her.

Surely my cheeks can't get any more red, right? She's incredibly possessive or she's trying to joke. I can't tell which.

A loud laugh bursts from Hans's lips.

"You're a pretty funny girl, you know?"

She rolls her eyes.

"Yeah, whatever. So, we getting that toaster or what?"

I join in on Hans's laughter, if only to make everything less awkward.

"Yeah, but you're going to have to do the talking. Neither of us knows Japanese."

She huffs and crosses her arms.

"Yeah, yeah. You should try and see if you can magic the language out of my mind or something. That's what psychics do, right? Sure would be a lot less of a pain..."

"I... I don't think that's a thing I can do."

I turn to Hans.

"Hmm." He holds his chin and lets out a thoughtful hum. "I have been experimenting with this one other power I found last night, but I have no idea if it could help at all."

In other words, more testing is required! But that's a matter for another time. Now, we must seek the holy toaster.

And, most importantly, we have to hope nothing bad happens. The Sekirei games haven't even started, so everything should be fine, right?

I don't dare to think the dreaded words.

"Let's go."

Benitsubasa nods.

"You're so paranoid!" she says with a laugh and slaps my back. "We're just going out for a walk. What's the worst that can happen?"

...

What indeed...