"You're always the one challenging me… Fine."
Watching Tsukiumi disappear into the distance, Homura (Kagari) shook her head helplessly.
"Hm? Why is she coming this way? Did she notice me? She shouldn't have," Goku murmured, surprised, as Tsukiumi vaulted toward their rooftop.
She tapped the windowsill with her toe and shot skyward like a loosed arrow. Even her exit was stylish—clean, exhilarating.
"Out of the way," she snapped mid-descent. Her body fell straight toward Goku.
Goku didn't budge. When do you get an up-close moment like this? Only a fool would step aside. He also stilled Akitsu, Uzume, and Kunō with a glance.
Clack.
Tsukiumi landed, hands on hips, looming over him. "I told you to move. Want to be stomped—"
Thump. Thump.
Her whole body trembled. A shudder clawed up from her soul; her pupils tightened; her heart hammered until her mind went blank.
'W-what is this? Not fear… this quivering from my very spirit—this scorching heat inside—what's happening to me?'
Flustered and mortified, Tsukiumi felt as if she stood naked before him, every secret laid bare.
'D-Don't tell me… this man is my…?' Her eyes flew to Goku in shock.
A heartbeat later, her face darkened. Rage boiled up, and Goku felt the killing intent spill from her in waves. "Heh… heh… I've been looking for you for a long time. Finally found you." She slid back in a graceful bound, opening the distance.
"Hey, what are you doing?" Goku sighed inwardly. This one was extreme. Most Sekirei sought their fated Ashikabi to form a contract; Tsukiumi sought hers so she could kill him first. A proud Sekirei would not allow a "filthy human" to defile her purity.
"Vile wretch met by ill fate—before you can stain me, I'll send you to the underworld!"
Cheeks aflame, Tsukiumi leveled a finger at Goku, voice ringing. Water beaded around her, glimmering in the sun.
"Prepare yourself, human!" She surged straight for him.
"Don't you dare hurt my Master!" Kunō, frightened but brave, planted herself before Goku. Uzume hung comfortably from Goku's back, unruffled.
"An enemy?" Akitsu's face was impassive as she rose and stepped ahead of Goku. Cold poured from her skin. She was angry. Anyone who tried to harm Goku—died.
"A Sekirei? And that crest… the discarded one," Tsukiumi breathed, startled. Then a nameless anger spiked. "So you already have two Sekirei. Filth. You must be erased."
She slashed her arm. A wall of water thundered forward like a breaking tide.
"Water-type, is it?" Akitsu's tone didn't change. She lifted a hand; cold billowed out and turned to white mist, meeting the onrushing tide.
Crack-crack…
The surging water froze in an instant.
"H-how?" Tsukiumi stared, stunned. Water against ice—ice already restrained water, and Akitsu's post-winging strength had soared. With the elemental counter stacked against her, Tsukiumi had almost no chance.
"Uh-oh. Looks like they're at it again up there," Yukari said, shading her eyes. Vast sheets of ice glittered under the sun like a shattered sky.
"Tsukiumi…" Homura frowned, then looked to Minato Sahashi. "Master, she's a friend. I'd like to check on her."
"'M-Master'?" Minato gaped.
"It's complicated. I'll explain later," Homura said gently.
"…I don't really get it, but if you want to go, go." Minato nodded, surprisingly considerate.
"We're going too! Looks exciting," Yukari chirped, dragging Shiina toward the stairs.
"Damn it… a discarded Sekirei—yet this strong?" Tsukiumi's brows knit. "With her in the way, killing that loathsome human will be… difficult."
A voice drifted from a neighboring rooftop, cool and out of place. "Consider this your warning… Heads up."
A man stood there, both hands on a sword planted tip-down, one palm easing the blade an inch free. His bearing was grave; power rippled, sharp and dangerous.
No.05—Mutsu. Again.
Behind him stood his Ashikabi—Mikogami Hayato.
Mikogami's eyes were hungry on Tsukiumi; when they slid to Goku, they burned with anger. "Hmph. You made me lose a Sekirei I'd just acquired. This one will compensate nicely. Heh… Mutsu, go. Take her back."
Mutsu sighed. "You're impossible… Everyone here is formidable. This won't be easy." Still, when the Ashikabi commands, the Sekirei moves. His aura tightened, keener than a drawn blade.
"Not simple," Tsukiumi muttered, face turning serious.
"No.05 Mutsu—I know him. Be careful. He's very strong," Uzume whispered, still clinging enticingly to Goku's back.
"No he isn't! Akitsu beat him before," Kunō piped up from behind Goku, content to keep playing support with Uzume and Akitsu present.
Sword-qi swelled; even the rooftop seemed to tremble. Mutsu slid his blade back into its scabbard—
Ding—
Invisible steel screamed through the air. The slash dropped like a guillotine, smoke and dust gathering as walls and eaves split cleanly in its wake.
It was a monstrous cut—overbearing, almost unavoidable.
Boom. Boom…
The roof bucked. Tiles sheared apart. The first floor's ceiling gave way; the structure began to collapse.
"Ah!" Tsukiumi cried as the surface fell out from under her. She pitched into the void.
Goku hooked an arm under Kunō and flashed forward, catching Tsukiumi around the waist. A few nimble bounds and he was clear of the collapsing edge and the falling rubble. Akitsu and Uzume arrived a breath later—post-winging, they easily evaded the trailing wave of sword Slash.
Down below, Minato and Yukari were less lucky. If not for their Sekirei, the siblings would have been buried alive.
With Tsukiumi and Kunō in his arms, Goku looked across at Mutsu, mildly impressed. The man really was strong—nearly at Karasuba's level.
'He… saved me,' Tsukiumi thought, dazed, staring up at him. Her already racing heart kicked harder. The trembling in her soul swelled, impossible to deny.
Goku set Tsukiumi on her feet. Akitsu and Uzume alighted nearby. He turned to Mikogami and spoke lazily: "Don't hold back. Go."
"Yes, Master."
Akitsu's gaze sharpened; cold roared from her like a gale as she flashed toward Mutsu.
"Should I go too?" Uzume asked, cuddling closer to Goku's arm, laughing softly.
"No need. Akitsu's enough," Goku said, serene.
Tsukiumi stared at that calm profile, cheeks flushing, heart pounding faster. 'Damn it… reacting to such filth…' She bit her tongue hard; the pain cleared a little fog from her head. With three quick leaps she put distance between herself and Goku. Being near him, she couldn't master the quake in her chest. If she couldn't resist, she would simply stay away.
"Mutsu!" Mikogami barked as Tsukiumi tried to retreat.
Mutsu threw him a helpless glance, then looked at Akitsu with genuine regret. "I'd hoped for a proper exchange… but my Ashikabi is as willful as ever."
His sword flicked. A rainbow arc of qi forced Akitsu back a step, and in the next instant Mutsu blurred past her and streaked for Tsukiumi.
Goku frowned slightly but didn't move. Tsukiumi's resistance to her destined Ashikabi was extreme; a gentle tap on the ego would be educational.
Tsukiumi's face tightened. With her body still weak from that fierce resonance with Goku, she had no strength to fend off a powerhouse like Mutsu. In a single exchange he seized and bound her.
"Well done, Mutsu. Bring her here," Mikogami said, delighted.
"Goku… she reacted to you," Uzume murmured, draped lazily along his side, voice warm as honey. "That means she's your Sekirei. Not going to save her?"
"We'll wait," Goku said, smiling slightly. No rush.
"Heh. Whenever I see an unwinged Sekirei, I want to make her mine. And now—at last—one in the hand," Mikogami said, eyes glittering as he studied Tsukiumi caught in Mutsu's grip. "Come—form a contract with me and become my property."
....
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