Cold Hearts & Steel Claws

Takahito thought back to all of the problems that his beloved Miya would have to face in his absence, he could only hope that his love would make it through all of this alright. He knew that Miya was strong; the strongest in fact of all the sekirei but just in case he had prepared three things to help end Minaka's plan and to put things to rest once and for all. These were his last thoughts as he passed to the other side, never to see his beautiful Miya until they met again.

The First Step…

Minato Sahashi sullenly trudged back to his apartment after having been chewed out by his mother for yet again failing to pass his entrance exam to Tokyo University for the second year in a row. As he inwardly chided himself for being such a loser he did not notice how late it had become as he paced slowly through the park. As the lights began to shine and illuminate the walkway, Minato was snapped out of his thoughts and began to look around trying to figure out where he was.

As he gazed about, his eyes fell upon a lone figure sitting on a bench. Upon further inspection he noticed that it was a girl who looked about his age, she wore only a bloodied Doctors coat and sat with her eyes cast downwards. He watched as people walked past her and pretended like she did not exist; It angered him that people could walk past someone who looked like she needed help, and still would do nothing.

She didn't move, yet she looked lonely and that she was waiting for someone that would never again show up. Minato strode towards her and she turned her head slightly at the sound of his footsteps approaching yet she never lifted her head to see who was approaching her. He stood before her and saw that the blood on the coat she wore was not her own, he wondered what had happened to her but figured it was best not to ask for the time being, he kneeled in front of her as he attempted to catch her eyes. She had short, light brown hair and her face was a blank with only a slightly depressed expression upon it. As he looked at her he noticed a strange tattoo upon her forehead in the shape of a bird, she glanced at him as he crouched before her but otherwise she did nothing to acknowledge his presence.

"Hey, are you alright? Do you need any help? My name is Minato, may I ask what yours is?"

He waited to hear her response, curious as to what she would sound like. Just when he was beginning to think that she was never going to respond he heard her softly answer him in a voice that matched her depressed expression.

"My name…is…Akitsu… I have been discarded by my masters because I am no longer of any use... I…I am a…failure…"

She hung her head once again as she finished speaking never once having once looked at him directly. As she answered his question Minato felt a pain in his heart when she told him she had been discarded because she was told that she wasn't of any use and that she thought she was a failure. He knew what it felt like to be a failure being a second year ronin his self and he knew exactly how she must be feeling. He sat on the bench next to her removed his jacket and gently draped it over her shoulders.

Frozen Moments…

Discarded, used up and then thrown away when she was no longer of any use to them. Her masters no longer needed her, no longer wanted her; she was broken, a failure. Her adjuster, the arrogant fool had failed in his duty to complete his adjustments of her, then after he had been fired by Takami Sahashi and the rest of his division due to his own incompetence he tried to take his irate frustrations out on Akitsu. She did what any sekirei would have done; she defended herself and escaped from MBI's labs

Now she was forced to roam the streets with no purpose and nowhere to go. As she wondered about she inwardly cursed her adjuster for making it impossible for her to ever find her Ashikabi and be winged of which she so desired. Coming to a halt at a park bench she perched herself upon it and decided that this was as good a place as any to remain. Akitsu listened to the people around her as they hurried past whispering secretively to one another about her appearance and the state she was in, never once did one of them ever stop to see if she needed any help. That was fine with her, she needed no ones help; she was a failure and she knew it and it was better if nobody else was involved with her. She would just sit and wait until MBI came and retrieved her to begin more test on her.

The sound of footsteps approaching reached her ears and she turned her head slightly towards the sound. 'Why would anyone be approaching me? Is it MBI finally come to collect me and punish me for escaping?' as she thought this she never lifted her head to the sound even when a pair of feet halted in front of her. Akitsu waited for the figure to say something, ordering her to return to MBI or something of the sort, instead the figure simply knelt attempting to catch her eyes. She glanced at him and saw that he seemed to be studying her as if he were trying to figure out what had happened to her.

"Hey, are you alright? Do you need any help? My name is Minato, may I ask what yours is?" he stood before her again and seemed to be waiting for her answer. 'He seems to speak sincerely and with concern for my wellbeing, but why would he care? I am nothing to him, I am a failure can he not see this? He should just leave me be.'

She waited for him to grow tired of her silence and return to his life leaving her to be alone as she felt it should be, yet he would not leave, he would not go away. Finally she decided to answer him, a small thing that she felt would quell his curiosity and thus persuade him to leave.

"My name…is…Akitsu… I have been discarded by my masters because I am no longer of any use... I…I am a…failure…"

She hung her head as she finished, it pained her to be reminded of her uselessness and now that she had given the figure named Minato her answer to his questions she was sure that he would now abandon her just as everyone else had done once they had finished using her. Akitsu waited for him to leave, never bothering to look at him as having his visage in her mind would do her no good since he would not be a part of her life for much longer. Surprising her the figure named Minato sat beside her upon the bench and proceeded to remove the jacket he wore and to place it upon her own shoulders. It was a foolish gesture, she needed no protection from the cold as it was her only constant companion. Still the warmth from Minato's jacket was a nice feeling upon her ever icy skin.

'Why does this stranger show such care and affection to someone they have never met before, so much so that they are willing to give even the jacket from their own back to someone else? I feel a warmth growing inside of me, what is this feeling? This stranger has asked for nothing in return for his kind actions. I must somehow return this kindness he has shown to me'

Slowly Akitsu reached up and brought the jacket tighter around her ample frame and turned her head to gaze upon the smiling face of her savior, the kind stranger named Minato, and in that moment she decided that she had found a new reason to continue on with her life; to serve and protect her new master, her ashikabi.

Quietly she whispered to herself, "My ashikabi, now and forever… Thank you…"

Now and Forever…

"My ashikabi, now and forever… Thank you…" Minato heard Akitsu whisper to herself. 'Her ashikabi? What is she talking about? What in the world is an ashikabi?' he mulled the thought over in his mind as he sat beside her neither of them making a move to end the silence that stretched between them until finally Minato decided to stand up and offer his hand to the girl who just a few moments ago had been just a figure in the shadows to him.

Minato stood before her, hand outstretched waiting for her to acknowledge the fact. When she finally looked up and noticed the hand before her and that Minato was wanting her to take it she hesitated a moment before slowly reaching up and placing her own cold hand into his warm palm. As she took his hand he gently helped her to her feet and when she stood he smiled at her brightly.

"You must be cold and hungry, I know my landlord will probably kick me out for this but why don't you come home with me and I'll let you borrow some clean clothes and give you a hot meal. It can't have been fun being out in this weather all by yourself." He chuckled a bit nervously as he reached his arm back and scratched his head.

Akitsu seemed to be deciding whether or not to go with him when they saw a pair of headlights approaching slowly in the distance of the park. Finally, it appeared that she had made her decision and nodded; taking the motion as agreement to his proposal Minato led her away from the park in the direction of his apartment all the while having Akitsu follow obediently as she held his hand.

Frozen Failures…

A slim teenage boy about 15 years of age sat in the back of his white limo impatiently playing with his brown hair and dusting any particles of matter off of his otherwise impeccably white formal suit that no doubt was meant to show those around him how important he was, or how important he thought that he was, to the world. Hayato Mikogami barked at the driver to go faster as his childish patients seemed to be wearing thin. He could not wait to collect his new toy and to see what fun it could provide within the game. Turning to a figure seated beside him Mikogami whined that he could not wait to collect his new sekirei and play with his new toy and that the figure should do something to further their apparently unimpressive progress as he shook his fists to illustrate his point.

Sighing, the taller figure exercised his patience with the young boy and said nothing much to Mikogami's distress. Slumping back down into his cushioned seat he crossed his arms and sat in silence until at last the driver of the vehicle announced that they would be arriving at the specified destination shortly. At the announcement Mikogami's excitement began to mount as he eagerly gazed out the window from his current position, straining to catch a glimpse of the toy that would soon be his. As the limo slowly proceeded down the walk of the park he saw two figures at the bench just ahead of them, not far but still not close enough as well. He watched as one of the figures rose and extended its hand towards the still seated one and waited as finally the second figure rose from its place upon the bench taking the first ones hand within their own.

Horror rose within the spoiled young man, as he knew that he was watching his prize be robbed from him before his very eyes. "Hurry!" he cried incredulously at the sight unfolding before him, "They are taking my prize! Stop them Mutsu, don't let them get away!" his plea was directed to the figure seated next to him who simply sighed at his masters foolish and childish behavior.

"Perhaps, it is for the best master." Mutsu stated calmly never portraying his annoyance with Mikogami's shrill orders. "That sekirei is but one of many, I am sure that you will find a new one soon enough of which you can wing." Mutsu grew weary of the conversation, as he knew that the logic of his statement would not sink into his young masters mind until much later when he had collected another prize to distract his mind from the loss of this single sekirei.

"But I want that one Mutsu." Mikogami stated with a pout encroaching upon his boyish features.

"Maybe it is for the best master, I am sure you will find another soon enough." Stated Mutsu with a slow sigh. Luckily, the young master conceded to Mutsu's advice and ordered the driver to return them home. Defeated, Mikogami slid back down into the cushioned recesses of his seat grumbling to under his breath about losing his toy.

The Hand That Guides Me…

"You must be cold and hungry, I know my landlord will probably kick me out for this but why don't you come home with me and I'll let you borrow some clean clothes and give you a hot meal. It can't have been fun being out in this weather all by yourself." Minato chuckled a bit at this as he reached behind himself to scratch his head nervously. He had stood up and extended his hand towards Akitsu offering her the gift of a roof over he head and a hot meal as well as the chance to be with her now chosen ashikabi. She had taken his hand when he had stood and offered it to her because when had had risen she had been afraid that he was going to leave and that she would be without her ashikabi once more. Instead he had turned to face her and offered his hand, she had felt her heart leap at the gesture no matter how small or insignificant it may have seemed to him, to her he had just accepted her and had given her an opportunity to show that she was his by taking his hand and letting her accept him.

Akitsu contemplated what returning to his home with him would mean, she would follow him of course; to the ends of the earth if he had bid her to do as such, but what might returning home with him mean to her new master? He had stated that his landlord may not find virtue in his decision to bring her back with him and that her presence at his home may cause his dismissal, a thing that she would never wish for her master. As she was arguing with herself inwardly her outward appearance betrayed nothing of what she was thinking as she stood before Minato, her hand in his. She finally decided upon agreeing to return to his apartment with him and nodded her approval of his proposal, no sooner had she done so than a pair of headlights shown upon their position but as they did so Minato was already in the process of leading her away from the scene and on the path that would lead to her new life with her ashikabi.

As they walked down the street Akitsu's eyes came to rest on her hand as it was extended to meet Minato's, she blushed slightly at his holding of her hand but the shade of pink quickly disappeared from her cheeks as she regained her usual neutral expression. 'I wonder what my master will have me do once we arrive at his apartment, will he have me show my gratitude to him or my usefulness to him by doing chores, or any other tasks that he decides I must do?' She was of course, willing to do anything and everything that her new master may bid but still Akitsu was curious as to the kind of man that she had chosen to become her ashikabi. She knew that he was kind and loving as proven by the actions he had displayed to her in the park while she was yet a stranger to him. Yet she was still curious as to what else she could learn about her ashikabi.

They continued walking until they reached a small building that had a few windows adorning it here and there; Minato led Akitsu up a flight of stairs where she stood patiently as he used his key to unlock the door to his apartment. He stepped aside to allow her to pass him and proceed into the apartment and as she did he followed closing the door behind them and relocking it. He asked her to wait on the couch for a moment while he disappeared into a separate room which she assumed was his bedroom and when he eventually returned he handed her an old large sweatshirt to wear and she took it graciously, knowing that this was a gift from her ashikabi and that he wished for her to wear it. Grudgingly she removed the jacket that Minato had put upon her shoulders and laid it to the side for the time being, standing she began to remove the Doctor's coat that remained but she was hurriedly stopped by Minato as he frantically motioned for her to wait until he was no longer in the room.

When she was done changing Minato returned and removed the Doctor's coat and placed his jacket upon a hook near the door, Akitsu watched a bit sadly as he did this but knew that she had the large sweatshirt of his to wear in place of it for the time being. He disappeared again into another room this time returning with some food that appeared to be leftovers.

"I apologize if it isn't any good but leftovers is all that I have right now, I hope they're okay." He shrugged his shoulders a bit and smiled weakly at her but the fact that he had went in search of food and was willing to share the food that he did possess warmed her cold heart.

"There is no need for apologies master, the food you have shared with me is perfectly adequate. Thank you." She still spoke as softly as she had in the park but now there was no longer the since of loneliness that it had once had.

"Good, I am glad you are happy with the food, tomorrow I will see if I can go and get some more so that you can have something other than leftovers to eat and maybe some clothes too… wa...wait! Did you just call me… mas…MASTER?!"