DW DXD Remastered Chapter 22 Wagtails (Patreon)

Shinto Teito (Two months before Canon)

"Don't let her get away!" 

The night sky above Shinto Teito split apart with the furious roar of a woman's voice, sharp with authority and urgency. High above the oblivious city streets, a high-stakes hunt was underway.

Far below, the sprawling metropolis glittered beneath a dense sea of vibrant neon lights. Towering skyscrapers pierced the heavy winter heavens while countless streets bustled with a lively nightlife, the thousands of ordinary citizens completely unaware of the chase unfolding directly over their heads. 

Three figures raced across the rooftops at speeds no ordinary human could ever hope to follow, leaping from building to building with fluid, effortless grace.

The lead figure was a strikingly beautiful woman draped in a flowing white veil that danced elegantly behind her. Though much of her face remained hidden beneath the elegant fabric, her divine beauty was impossible to conceal. Deep brown eyes flashed with fierce determination while strands of soft brown hair escaped the borders of her veil, fluttering wildly in the biting wind.

Uzume gritted her teeth, her legs burning from the prolonged, grueling sprint. Her chest rose and fell heavily as she violently pushed her body to its absolute limits.

"Haa… Haa… Don't you people have anything better to do?!" Uzume shouted in pure frustration, her voice carrying sharply over the whistling wind. "When will you finally just leave me alone?!"

Behind her, the two women continued their relentless pursuit. They were just as beautiful as the girl they were chasing.

The first possessed long, raven-black hair and sharp brown eyes that remained locked forward with unshakeable focus. A pristine white dress was wrapped tightly around her athletic, curved figure, and every leap and bound she made carried the lethal efficiency of a masterfully trained fighter.

Beside her moved another woman with flowing blonde hair styled into twintails, her piercing blue eyes narrowed in sheer irritation. Her expression remained deeply annoyed and frustrated by the target's stubborn resilience.

Spotting an opening, the blonde-haired pursuer lunged forward over a gap between buildings. "Stop running, you stubborn fool! You already belong to our Ashikabi!" Her words were absolute, ringing out with a heavy, unyielding certainty as if Uzume’s fate had already been sealed.

Uzume bit her lower lip, her heart hammering violently against her ribs like a trapped bird. "Like hell I will!"

With a burst of internal strength, she vaulted cleanly over a massive rooftop’s ventilation unit before springing off her heel onto a towering communications structure. The heavy metal framework groaned and vibrated violently under the sudden, immense force of her landing.

'I won’t let them capture me,' Uzume thought fiercely, her mind racing as fast as her pulse. 'I refuse to be treated like an object. I won’t be controlled by anyone, and I will freely choose my own destined one when the time is right!'

But as she leaped off the metal grid, bracing her body to plunge toward the next rooftop for another desperate escape—

The very air above her began to violently warp and twist.

A jagged, blinding crack in space-time suddenly flickered into existence right above the rooftops, distorting the fabric of reality with a low, ominous hum that made the hairs on Uzume's neck stand on end.

—-----------------------------

Suddenly, a patch of the night sky roughly twenty feet above the rooftops began to violently warp and distort. Which was soon to become a problem as below had no building to stop whatever came out to land. Anyone plunging from that height would inevitably drop straight to their death on the asphalt below.

Right on cue, Issei shot out of the temporal rift, still clad in his Kuoh Academy uniform. The second his shoes hit empty air and his brain processed the terrifying lack of ground, he then flailed his arms wildly and let out a blood-curdling scream.

"Ahhhhhhh, Damn it Sherri!"

Luckily for his survival odds, the runaway trio was sprinting along a trajectory heading directly in his downward path. However, locked in their intense, high-speed chase, neither the fleeing woman nor her two pursuers seemed to notice the boy spontaneously materializing out of thin air or the fact that he was plummeting like a stone.

Until, that is, his loud, completely panicked scream echoed sharply from right above their heads.

Uzume and her two relentless pursuers snapped their heads upward mid-stride, their eyes widening just in time to see a brown-haired boy in a school uniform plummeting straight toward them from the dark heavens.

"WATCH OUT!" Issei yelled, his voice cracking.

"""Huh?""" 

The three ladies let out a gasp of utter confusion, looking up just as they reached the apex of a massive leap across the gap between buildings. 

A split second later, Issei and the veiled woman violently collided mid-air. The brutal velocity of the impact sent both Uzume and Issei tumbling through the sky, their limbs tangling and their bodies spinning completely out of control as they fell. In the chaotic, upside-down scramble, their faces crashed together, and their lips forcefully brushed against each other in a hard, rough, and entirely unintended kiss. 

The moment their lips accidentally sealed, a brilliant, blinding flash of pure white light erupted between them. A pair of ethereal, glowing white wings suddenly burst forth from the veiled woman’s back, unfurling into the night air with a majestic sweep.

“Spiritual and mental connection successfully established,” Sherri’s calm, synthesized voice chimed directly into Issei’s ear, completely unbothered by the physics of the crash, signaling that a permanent metaphysical bond had just been forged.

Fortunately, the sheer momentum of the mid-air collision altered their trajectory, sending Issei and the woman in white crashing down toward the flat roof of the adjacent building rather than the deadly street below.

The moment they hit the concrete, both of them skidded several feet, letting out heavy groans as a sharp wave of sudden pain coursed through their bodies.

"Ow! Owwww… Damn it all to hell…" Issei hissed through his teeth, slowly pushing himself up on shaking forearms. His entire body throbbed from the impact, but as his vision finally cleared and his eyes focused on his immediate surroundings, he suddenly froze completely solid.

Lying flat on her back right beside him was a spectacularly busty, brown-haired beauty. The violent tumble had completely stripped away her white veil from her head, revealing a scandalously revealing short white top and skirt that hid her voluptuous figure. Her toned, flawless midsection and long, exceptionally slender legs were fully exposed to the cool night air, and the delicate veils extending from her outfit rested gently on the rooftop.

And, tracking with Issei's priorities, she possessed an absolutely legendary pair of oppai.

‘Oh. My. GOOOOOOOD!’ Issei’s mind quickly shut down completely as his thoughts defaulted directly into a state of pure perversion.

The brown-haired beauty slowly opened her brown eyes, groaning slightly, only to find a brown-haired youth staring down at her with a thoroughly dazed perverted expression. She noted that he wore a strange, stylized uniform entirely unknown to her. But as she looked deeper, bypassing his goofy face, her eyes widened in profound shock as the sheer, staggering amount of power coiled within this boy was staggering. Her immediate thoughts shifted in rapid succession: first, that he was kind of cute; second, that he was an absolute pervert; and third, that he was a surprisingly, terrifyingly powerful Ashikabi.

"Damn it!" 

A sharp, venomous curse abruptly shattered the silence, drawing both of their attention away from each other. Uzume looked up to see her blonde pursuer standing at the edge of the roof, her face twisted into an expression of sheer annoyance and burning rage. The two hunters had finally caught up, landing on the roof with precise thuds.

Seeing her hunters arrive, Uzume quickly pushed herself up, her muscles tensing as she prepared herself for a fight. But curiously, as she assumed a defensive stance, her opponents didn't lunge forward. Instead, they just stared at the duo with expressions full of bitterness.

"How the hell did she just get winged?!" The blonde hissed, stepping up to the ledge and glaring at Issei. "The guy looks like an absolute nobody. He practically has zero aura at all!"

Uzume’s mind violently raced, her heart dropping into her stomach as the heavy reality of the situation finally pierced through her adrenaline. 'W-Wait… what did they just say? Winged?'

She had been running for so long, exhausting herself to the point of collapse, desperately fighting to avoid being claimed like a prize by some random, power-hungry master. And yet… At the very end of it all, because of a freak accident, she had been winged. Completely without a choice. Her stomach twisted in a painful knot of shock, grief, and bitter frustration. She was now bound forever, her lifelong dream of freely choosing her own true, destined Ashikabi shattered in a single second.

But as her mind processed the rest of the hunter's complaint, a deep sense of confusion washed over her grief.

‘No aura?’ Uzume thought, staring blankly at her fellow Sekirei. That was completely wrong. The exact millisecond their lips had collided, Uzume had felt it clearly. The raw, staggering power radiating off this boy wasn't absent—it was like a massive, subterranean geyser, intensely suppressed beneath the surface but overwhelmingly, violently present. It had sent an involuntary chill straight down her divine spine, its sheer, dominating weight carrying the unmistakable presence of an absolute King. 'They… they seriously can’t sense what’s inside him?' 

The pursuers, completely disgusted by their sudden failure, contemptuously turned their backs on the scene.

"Tch. All that work for absolutely nothing," The blonde one spat, crossing her arms.

"Hope you're thoroughly happy with your choice, girl," the black-haired one added coldly over her shoulder. "You just officially made a permanent enemy out of the Ashikabi of the South."

With those final, ominous parting words, the two dangerous beauties leaped effortlessly off the skyscraper's ledge, vanishing into the sprawling neon maze of the city below.

Meanwhile, Issei was still sitting on the roof, his head spinning as he tried to process the rapid-fire arrival and departure of many drop-dead gorgeous women. He was also deeply bewildered by the fact that he was currently sitting a hundred feet in the air on top of an unfamiliar skyscraper, and at the same time having no idea what the hell any of these girls were talking about. 

"Winged? Ashikabi? South? What the actual hell is going on in this world?" Issei muttered, rubbing the back of his neck in utter confusion. 

Beside him, Uzume remained still in a state of shock. She stood entirely alone in her mind, staring blankly at the empty ledge where her hunters had been. Realizing that he wasn't going to get a single answer just sitting around, Issei sighed, pushed himself to his feet, and walked over to the silent, distressed woman. 

Shaking off his lingering perverted thoughts, he offered her a warm smile and extended a hand toward her. "Hey… uh, thanks for accidentally saving my life back there. If I hadn't hit you, I'd probably be a pancake on the street right now."

As she turned to face him, her face remained utterly blank, her wide eyes locked in a silent, traumatized daze. She just stood there like a beautiful statue, completely deaf to his words, staring right through him.

Issei frowned, his expression turning serious. He waved a hand gently in front of her face. "Uh, hello? Are you okay? What's your name? Mine's Issei."

Still, nothing. The girl continued to hold that empty, broken look.

This commanded Issei's undivided attention. Looking past her physical beauty, he was quick to pick up on the raw, overwhelming emotions rolling off her as she was completely drowning in a sea of sudden sadness, grief, and total defeat. Without a second thought, Issei stepped directly into her personal space, his goofiness completely vanishing as he focused entirely on trying to help her.

Something was deeply wrong. Despite having literally just met this woman, the completely devastated, lost look in her eyes struck a heavy chord in his chest as she looked entirely heartbroken.

Moving a step closer, Issei reached out and firmly placed a comforting hand on her bare shoulder. "Hey. Are you okay? Talk to me. You look like you're about to completely break apart." 

His voice was thick with genuine worry with his naturally protective instincts flaring up. He hated seeing anyone in pain, especially a girl who looked like her entire world had just ended. He gave her shoulder a gentle, reassuring squeeze, hoping the physical touch would be enough to snap her back to reality.

Luckily, that warmth was exactly what she needed.

Uzume flinched, her breath hitching as her brown eyes slowly flickered down, finally focusing on his face. She stared at him, her voice barely a whisper. "Are you… are you really worried about me?" She asked quietly, her tone laced with a fragile disbelief, as if she couldn't comprehend why a total stranger would look at her with such earnest concern.

Issei raised an eyebrow, a soft laugh escaping him as he let go of her shoulder. "Of course I am. What kind of guy wouldn’t be losing his mind with worry when a beautiful woman with big oppai looks incredibly sad right in front of him?"

Somehow, those completely honest, perverse, but deeply caring words were exactly what her aching soul needed to hear. They sparked a tiny, unexpected glimmer of hope in her chest that maybe, just maybe, things weren't completely hopeless.

Uzume’s lips parted slightly in shock. Then, a small, shaky, but entirely genuine laugh escaped her lips. "I… I see," She murmured, the crushing weight on her shoulders easing just a fraction.

She let out a long, deep exhale, reaching up to rub the lingering tears from her eyes. Then straightening her posture with a newfound sense of dignity, she gracefully placed a hand over her heart. "I’m deeply sorry for causing you such worry, Issei-sama. My name is Number 10, Uzume, the Veil Sekirei." 

Issei tilted his head in complete, comical confusion. "Number 10? Uzume? And... Sekirei? Like the wagtail bird?" Despite his complete ignorance of the word's significance, he offered her his bright, signature grin. "Well, either way, I’m Issei Hyoudou. It's really nice to meet you, Uzume." 

Uzume chuckled softly, shaking her head at his oblivious charm. "It's nice to meet you too, Issei." 

Deep down, her heart still ached fiercely over the sudden loss of her freedom. But somehow, looking into this idiot’s completely earnest grin, she found herself feeling a little less hopeless about her fate.

She took a deep breath, her expression turning serious. "There is a massive amount of things that I need to explain to you, about what just happened to us. But can you find it in yourself to hear me out?"

Issei nodded instantly, adjusting his school bag. "Sure. I'm all ears. Fire away."

"Great! In that case, let's go somewhere significantly more private and comfortable," She said, a sudden spark of her natural, lively excitement rapidly returning to her voice.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," Issei agreed, looking around the barren skyscraper. "But just a quick question. How exactly are we supposed to get down from—"

Issei was abruptly cut off. Before his brain could even register her movement, Uzume lunged forward, effortlessly scooped his entire body up into a secure, sweeping bridal style carry, and took a massive, gravity-defying leap straight off the edge of the hundred-foot building.

As they plummeted down into the neon-lit abyss of the city, Issei’s high-pitched, terrified screams echoed wildly into the night air.

—----------------------------------------

MBI Headquarters 

The sterile, blindingly white halls of MBI Headquarters buzzed with a quiet efficiency. Deep inside the main command center, towering electronic screens flickered in unison, casting a cold glow over the room as they displayed real-time satellite feeds of Shinto Teito. The system was actively tracking Sekirei, monitoring localized Ashikabi activations, and running invasive, city-wide surveillance algorithms.

But today, a massive anomaly had violently disrupted the network.

Standing rigid at absolute attention in front of a sprawling mahogany executive desk, a high-ranking MBI operative cleared his throat, desperately trying to mask his underlying anxiety.

"Sir, I am here to formally report the successful winging of Sekirei Number 10, Uzume."

Across from him, sitting lazily in a lavish, high-backed leather chair, was a man dressed entirely in a pristine, flamboyant white suit. A smug, wildly eccentric smile played effortlessly across his lips. His chaotic white hair was disheveled and wild, and his thin-rimmed glasses glinted sharply under the harsh artificial lighting of the office.

This was Hiroto Minaka, the Chairman of MBI and the undisputed, mad mastermind behind the Sekirei Plan.

Minaka grinned radiantly, steepling his fingers together as he leaned his elbows onto the polished desk. "Wonderful! Magnificent! Another beautiful bird has finally found her keeper! Tell me, who is our lucky, newly awakened Ashikabi chosen by destiny to play in this grand Game of the Gods?"

The operative hesitated, his jaw tightening as he stared at the tablet in his hands.

Minaka’s theatrical grin faltered by a fraction of a millimeter, his eyes narrowing behind his lenses. "Well? Speak up, man! What is the meaning of this delay?"

The operative shifted his weight uncomfortably, a cold sweat breaking out on the back of his neck. "That is... we have encountered a significant issue, Mr. Chairman."

Minaka’s left eyebrow arched beautifully over his frames. "An issue? A flaw? In my completely flawless, perfect game? Highly improbable."

The operative nodded stiffly, bracing himself. "Yes, sir. As you are well aware, every single resident living within the borders of Shinto Teito is rigorously registered inside our central database. National identification numbers, employment backgrounds, extended family lineages, and medical records, our system usually commands absolute access to everything."

Minaka leaned forward over his desk, his eccentric curiosity thoroughly piqued. "Go on, spit it out."

The operative adjusted his earpiece, clearing his throat once more. "But... for this specific Ashikabi, our network has found absolutely nothing. No legal identity. No residential background. No birth certificates. No medical records. Zero digital footprint or trace of past physical existence. Mr. Chairman... it is as if the boy literally materialized out of thin air."

For a prolonged, heavy moment, a dead silence hung over the luxurious office.

Then—

"Oho~?" Minaka’s grin slowly stretched wider, reaching a manic, ecstatic proportion as his fingers began tapping together at a frantic pace. "A mystery player has joined the board, has he? An uninvited ghost in the machine! How profoundly fascinating!"

He suddenly vaulted out of his chair, his long white coat swishing dramatically in the air as he assumed a grand, theatrical pose. "Do we at least possess an image of this phantom contestant?!"

The operative nodded quickly, relieved to move things along. "Yes, sir. Bringing up the security feed now."

A massive, high-definition monitor descended smoothly from the ceiling, flickering to life with a sharp electronic chime. The enhanced image snapped into crystal-clear focus.

The picture revealed a teenage boy with short, ordinary brown hair and a completely common, average-looking Japanese face. The only remotely notable feature about his entire physical appearance was the incredibly unfamiliar, stylized school uniform he wore.

Minaka’s manic grin instantly morphed into a deeply disappointed frown. "This... this is our terrifying anomaly?" He adjusted his glasses with a finger, squinting hard at the monitor. "He looks painfully average. He has the face of a background character!"

The operative maintained his professional composure. "We shared the exact same sentiment upon initial review, sir. But there is one more detail."

Minaka waved a dismissive hand through the air, pacing the floor. "Out with it, then!"

"We attempted to run a comprehensive trace on his school uniform, believing it would immediately identify his school district or point of origin."

Minaka’s frown deepened, his eyes flashing. "And?"

The operative exhaled a sharp breath. "Nothing. There are absolutely no manufacturing records, design blueprints, or school registrations of that specific uniform existing anywhere within the entire nation of Japan."

A heavy silence reclaimed the room. Minaka stopped pacing, slowly walking back over to his desk and sinking into his high-backed chair.

Then a wild, unhinged laugh suddenly erupted from the depths of his chest.

"AHAHAAHAHAHAHA! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

The operative visibly flinched at the volume, but the Chairman completely ignored him, leaping back onto his feet and spinning around dramatically in a circle of pure euphoria.

"An entirely unknown Ashikabi?! A literal ghost bypassing my global security grid to claim a top-tier Sekirei?! Oh, how absolutely, beautifully thrilling!" Minaka whipped around to face the operative, his glasses flashing ominously under the lights. "Ensure that our eyes never leave him! Track his every single movement through the city! The very next chance the universe provides—I want to speak with this fascinating boy personally!"

The operative bowed deeply at the waist. "Understood, Mr. Chairman. It shall be done."

As the screen flickered off and retracted back into the ceiling, Minaka grinned wickedly to himself, tapping a gloved finger against his chin as he stared out the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the neon cityscape.

"Now, then... let us see what kind of magnificent, world-shattering storm you are going to bring into my beautiful game, unknown Ashikabi."

—----------------------------------------------

Shinto Teito, City Park

A gentle winter breeze rustled through the autumn-colored trees surrounding the park, carrying the distant hum of Shinto Teito's evening traffic and the faint chirping of roosting birds. Beneath the sprawling shade of an old oak tree, a teenage boy and a newly unveiled beauty sat side by side on a secluded wooden bench.

"So let me get this straight," Issei started, staring blankly at the grass. "You’re part of an alien race that crashed on Earth with 108 others of your kind. But unfortunately, the very first person to discover your ship happened to be a total, unhinged madman, which somehow gave him full legal and technical authority over your entire species."

Uzume nodded slowly, her fingers idly playing with the fine hem of her white veil. "Yep. That’s about the long and short of it."

"And after years of keeping you all isolated and running experiments, this total lunatic is now forcing your entire race into some kind of high-stakes death tournament across the city for the sake of a ‘mysterious grand prize’?"

Uzume let out a soft sigh, crossing her slender legs as she leaned back against the wooden slats. "Mhm. That's exactly right."

Issei aggressively rubbed his temples, pinching his eyes shut as his brain threatened to explode. "What the hell kind of absurd, late-night Isekai light novel plot did I just randomly land in…?"

Uzume raised a perfectly sculpted eyebrow, tilting her head in confusion. "Isekai? What's that?"

Issei waved his hand dismissively through the air. "Don't worry about it. More importantly... what exactly is an Ashikabi? And what in the world was that weird, blinding flash of light when we kissed?"

Uzume fidgeted slightly on the bench, a sudden blush tinted her cheeks. "Sekirei are beings that live for love, Issei. We are biologically destined to find one truly special person to bond with, someone who completes us and we will forever search the world for that one singular individual who gives us that undeniable feeling. Once found we then bond with them in a sacred marriage. An Ashikabi is exactly what you are to me now. The one I will completely devote my life and love to. A person who formed a permanent bond with a Sekirei through our DNA. That white light you saw was proof that you've officially 'winged' me. A winging is when a Sekirei and an Ashikabi successfully create that bond."

Issei stiffened completely, his posture turning rigid as a board. "Wait. Hold on. Did you say... devote your life?!"

Uzume nodded with absolute, unwavering seriousness. "Yes. The exact moment we form that bond, it is considered as sacred as a lifelong marriage."

"W-W-Wait... MARRIAGE?!" Issei shrieked, his voice cracking into a high pitch that echoed off the trees.

Uzume blinked in genuine surprise, looking at his sudden panic. "Y-Yes? Is there a problem with that?"

Issei completely froze. His brain violently slammed on the brakes, sending his thoughts into a wild tailspin. ‘Marriage?! No, no, no, this is an absolute disaster! Yuuka and Tamamo are going to skin me alive!’ His face instantly lost all of its color at the thought, turning a ghostly, pale shade of white.

Uzume tilted her head, her brown eyes filling with concern. "Issei? Why do you suddenly look like you’ve just seen a ghost?"

Issei swallowed hard, a cold sweat breaking out across his forehead. "Because I just accidentally broke a massive promise to my girlfriends."

Uzume choked on her own breath, her jaw dropping. "G-Girlfriends?! As in... more than one?!"

Issei let out a long, utterly defeated sigh, burying his face in his hands. "Yeah. I made a strict promise to them back home that if I ever even thought about adding another girl to my harem, they would be the absolute first to know, and they would have to personally vet and approve of her first. And I just completely shattered that promise on day one in another world. Damn it all."

Uzume blinked rapidly, trying to process the sheer absurdity of his statement. "Wait, wait, back up a second. So you're telling me... you already have a harem?"

Issei scratched his flushed cheek awkwardly, refusing to look her in the eye. "Uh... yeah, kind of?"

Uzume simply stared at him in dead silence. She looked up and down at his uniform and his aggressively average face. This dazed, perverted teenager actually had multiple women actively fighting for his attention back where he came from?

‘Dear lord... is he secretly, unbelievably good in bed?’ Uzume thought to herself, her imagination taking a wild leap.

Shaking her head to clear the thought, Uzume let out a small, heavy sigh, her expression softening into something guilt-ridden. "I'm so sorry, Issei."

Issei raised an eyebrow, blinking out of his panic. "Huh? Why are you apologizing?"

Uzume shifted uncomfortably on the wooden bench, looking down at her lap. "I didn’t mean to... well, completely mess up your personal life and your relationship. I know this entire situation was just a freak accident."

Issei immediately shook his head, his tone turning warm and fiercely protective. "No, hey, absolutely not. It is not your fault even a little bit. Don't say that."

Then, his brain finally kicked in, his eyes narrowing in deep thought as he looked at his glowing wrist device. "Wait a second. How did I even physically qualify to become your Ashikabi in the first place?"

Uzume glanced away, a faint, lovely blush re-emerging on her face as she cleared her throat. "Well... when we violently collided in mid-air... our lips firmly touched. The exact millisecond that happened, our respective DNA mixed through our saliva, which immediately completed the bond."

Issei processed the data. On one hand, he had technically just kissed a drop-dead gorgeous, incredibly voluptuous alien woman, and now they were metaphysically married. Score. On the other hand, Yuuka and Tamamo were going to launch him into the sun the moment he got back home.

But as he looked closer at Uzume's downturned face, a much heavier realization hit his chest. This was essentially a forced arranged marriage that Uzume had never asked for. She had been running for her life to preserve her freedom, only to lose it because he fell out of the sky.

His stomach twisted into a painful knot of guilt. "Wait... does that mean I forced you into this permanent bond against your will?"

Uzume’s brown eyes widened in total shock. "What? No! Absolutely not! I mean, technically speaking, yes, but it wasn’t your fault! It was a complete accident!"

Issei stood up abruptly from the bench, his fists clenching tightly at his sides. "That doesn’t make it okay! Accident or not!"

Uzume blinked up at him, utterly stunned by the sudden fire in his demeanor.

Issei’s expression then turned serious, his brown eyes locking onto hers with absolute sincerity. "To me, it might have just been a crazy, accidental kiss. But to you... it was a lifelong, sacred bond that stripped away your choice. That’s a massive deal. How can we just say that’s fine?" His voice was thick with genuine guilt.

Uzume’s lips parted slightly, her heart skipping a beat. ‘He... he actually cares about me?’ She thought, completely captivated.

In her experience she had never once met or heard of an Ashikabi who actually, genuinely prioritized the emotional well-being and personal feelings of their Sekirei. And yet, this perverted, goofy idiot standing in front of her was actively stressing over her happiness.

His determined eyes burned into hers. "I swear to you, Uzume... I am going to find a way to make this up to you. I won't just treat you like a prize."

Uzume felt a profound tightness bloom in her chest, a radiant warmth spreading through her soul. Maybe... just maybe, this freak accident wasn't a tragedy after all. A deep sense of comfort washed over her, convincing her that this twist of fate was going to be something beautiful. Perhaps it truly was destiny that had guided him to crash into her life. It made her genuinely care for her new Ashikabi, just as a true bond should.

Uzume then fidgeted playfully, a spark of her natural, confident charm returning as she took a deep, steadying breath. "Well... if you're really that determined to make it up to me... can I make one small, immediate request?"

Issei nodded instantly, completely earnest. "Sure! Anything you want, name it."

Uzume’s cheeks flushed a brilliant shade of pink as she stood up to face him, looking up through her long lashes. "I... I want a proper kiss."

Issei froze completely solid. "Eh? A... a what?"

Uzume looked dead into his eyes, her brown gaze swirling with intense emotion and budding affection. "Please, Issei."

And then, with master-class execution, she pulled out the ultimate, completely unblockable weapon: the flawless, trembling puppy dog eyes.

Issei groaned internally, his resolve instantly turning to ash. 'Dammit, that is completely unfair. My defenses can't handle this level of cuteness.'

After a moment of hesitation, his face heated up to a roaring boil. "S-Sure. Okay."

Slowly, deliberately, they leaned closer toward one another, their warm breaths mingling in the crisp autumn air. And finally, without any violent impacts or gravity, their lips gently met.

The exact instant their lips sealed by choice, a radiant, blindingly pure white light flared into existence behind Uzume's back. Her delicate veiled-wings automatically rose into the air, expanding outward like the majestic wings of a celestial angel.

The innocent kiss quickly and unexpectedly deepened when Uzume, thoroughly liking the warm, empowering taste of his lips, decided to introduce a bold new variable into the equation. With a soft hum, she pressed her voluptuous body completely flush against his chest, deepening the contact with a slow, sensual slide of her tongue.

Issei let out a muffled groan straight into the kiss, his hands instinctively dropping to grip her soft, toned waist as her curves pressed tightly against him, anchoring him to the spot.

After a full, breathless minute of intense, heated passion that seemed to make the park around them vanish, they finally reluctantly parted, both panting heavily for air with a trail of saliva bridging their lips.

Uzume’s natural, playful confidence completely flooded back into her posture as her lips curved into a soft, sultry purr. "Sekirei Number 10, Uzume, the Veil Sekirei," She announced, her voice carrying a sacred, echoing weight. "By the veil of my pledge... let my cloth protect you from all nightmares and harm, my beloved Ashikabi." Her words felt sacred, settling over the park like a binding vow that could never be broken by any force on Earth.

Issei, his brain still thoroughly dazed from the spectacular light show and the sheer, unbridled passion of the kiss, could only nod his head dumbly, his face completely red.

'Man... I am in so much trouble,' Issei thought to himself, a cold sweat re-emerging. 'I am going to have to have a very long, very terrifying conversation with Yuuka and Tamamo, the absolute second I get back. I just pray to the heavens they can find it in their hearts to forgive me.'

(Well, well, partner... you certainly have a consistent knack for getting into incredibly lucky situations,) Ddraig’s voice suddenly rumbled directly inside his mind, dripping with a heavy layer of amusement. (I must admit, I've never personally encountered an alien species that literally thrives and powers up on an emotion called love. Then again, we dragons live entirely by our unyielding pride. So I suppose we aren't all that different.)

Issei's mental eyebrows shot up in sudden fury. 'Ddraig! Where the actual hell were you when I was free-falling twenty stories in the air?!'

(Sleeping, obviously,) Ddraig responded instantly, yawning within his mind. (A dragon needs his rest, partner.)

'You useless, oversized red lizard!' Issei yelled back mentally before shifting targets. 'Sherri, what do you think of this world?'

"Issei? Are you okay?" Uzume’s sweet voice suddenly interrupted his mental conversation. She gently poked his flushed cheek with a slender finger, instantly dragging Issei's focus right back to reality.

He snapped out of his head, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "Ah! Yeah! Yeah, sorry about that, Uzume. Just... manually processing a lot of information right now."

Uzume smirked playfully, leaning in close enough for him to catch her scent. "Processing how remarkably good I taste, perhaps?"

Issei’s face exploded into a fresh wave of crimson. "W-Well—I mean—?!"

Uzume giggled delightfully, her chest bouncing. "Hm hmm. I'm incredibly glad you liked it," she said cockily, tossing her hair over her shoulder before a sudden thought caused her to pause.

"By the way, Issei... what exactly were you doing free-falling out of the clouds?" She asked, a brilliant grin spreading across her face at how wild it sounded. "You obviously weren't skydiving, considering you're in a school uniform and there wasn't a single airplane in sight. It was almost like you literally appeared out of thin air."

Issei instantly began sweating bullets, his posture stiffening as he was rudely reminded of his total lack of a cover story. “Uhhh... well, you see...” But before he could open his mouth to fabricate a terrible explanation, Issei's stomach suddenly let out a loud, aggressive, and thoroughly rumbling growl, entirely voicing its complaints to the world.

Issei let out a nervous laugh, rubbing his belly. "Uh... sorry about that. Guess I'm completely starving after all that."

Uzume’s eyes lit up, her grin widening. "Heee~? Well, that's perfectly fine! I actually know a fantastic, cozy place nearby where we can grab some amazing food. And plus, I'm sure the people I live with would absolutely love to meet my new Ashikabi!"

Issei perked up, his interest piqued. "Wait, you actually know people around here? 

Uzume nodded happily. "Yep! It's a local boarding house where I'm currently staying."

"Ahh, well, that's actually a massive relief," Issei admitted, scratching his cheek. "To be completely honest, I don't actually have a single yen or a place to live since I literally just arrived in this city."

"By falling directly out of the sky," Uzume reminded him with a playful wink. "You’re absolutely going to have to tell me the full story behind that, you know?"

"I promise I will," Issei said, offering a warm smile. "Just, let's get some food into my system first, and I'll lay out all the cards for you."

"Alright, it's a deal!" Uzume cheered. She then stepped forward, bracing her posture as she prepared to wrap her arms around his waist to lift him up again.

"Whoa, whoa, wait!" Issei yelled, frantically backing away with a wave of his hands, his face burning with sheer embarrassment. "Uzume, please, let's just walk there normally, okay?"

Uzume paused, blinking, before a massive, teasing chuckle escaped her lips. "Aww~? Is my Ashikabi way too proud to be carried through the air by a girl?"

Issei grumbled under his breath, looking away because she had hit the nail right on the head. To change the subject, his eyes drifted down to her elaborate outfit and her weapon. "Oh, right, I kind of forgot to ask... what’s the deal with that veil of yours? I noticed it keeps floating and moving around dynamically even when there isn't a single gust of wind."

"Oh, this? It's my power!" Uzume explained proudly, shrugging her shoulders as she made the fabric ripple effortlessly around her arms like water. "I possess complete telekinetic control over cloth. I can manipulate it through the air, use it as my primary weapon, and I can even alter its structure to shrink, enlarge, or make it as durable as solid stone! Though... I guess I'm pretty much screwed if I ever have to fight someone who controls raw fire, water, or really sharp blades." She added with a casual roll of her eyes.

Issei smiled genuinely, staring at the floating material. "Wow. Honestly? I think that is incredibly cool, Uzume."

Uzume’s breath hitched, her eyes widening slightly before she looked away, a soft, genuine warmth melting her teasing expression. "Aww... you’re just saying that to flatter me. But... thank you, Issei."

With a happy, contented hum, Uzume stepped in close and affectionately leaned her weight against Issei's arm, locking her hands around his elbow.

And with that, the newly bound Ashikabi and Sekirei smoothly walked out of the park gates together, stepping into the vibrant neon evening of Shinto Teito.

—-----------------------------------------------

Izumo Inn, Kitchen

The rich, comforting aroma of freshly simmered miso soup and perfectly grilled fish completely filled the air, intermingling with the faint, nostalgic scent of aged tatami mats and meticulously polished cedar wood. The sprawling kitchen of the Izumo Inn possessed a distinct, old-fashioned charm, beautifully reflecting the traditional, rustic elegance of the entire mansion property.

Yet, despite the profoundly serene and peaceful atmosphere hanging over the dining area—

A certain purple-haired landlady was currently feeling anything but serene.

"Wow, thanks a million for the amazing food, Miya!" Uzume grinned radiantly, entirely unfazed by the tension as she cheerfully stuffed her face with a massive mound of steaming white rice.

“This is really good!” Right across from her, Issei Hyoudou sat incredibly awkwardly at the low dining table. He was frantically shoveling food into his mouth at a rapid pace that was honestly just a fraction shy of completely indecent, driven by pure hunger.

Standing just a few feet away, Asama Miya, the formidable landlady of the Izumo Inn, watched the display with an absolute blank stare.

"Oh no, please, it is absolutely fine," Miya said. Her tone was perfectly pleasant, yet carried a dangerously neutral, icy edge. Suddenly, her sharp reddish-brown eyes narrowed by a fraction. "Just casually walk right into my establishment, take a plate, and aggressively consume my food without offering a single word of basic courtesy. Explanations are apparently completely unnecessary regardless of why you suddenly brought a random teenager into my home, Uzume. Or, for that matter, why said teenager is currently eating like an absolute starving animal."

Issei froze completely solid mid-bite, a piece of fish dangling precariously from his chopsticks.

Uzume visibly flinched, a cold sweat breaking out on her neck.

A heavy, suffocating silence instantly settled over the entire room.

Dropping his head in a hasty, deeply apologetic bow, Issei swallowed hard. "I am incredibly sorry, Ma'am! Thank you so much for the meal. You are an absolute lifesaver."

The newly formed couple could now be seen properly gathered inside the old Japanese mansion, ravenously eating the fresh food being served by the strict owner of the residence.

Said owner was currently annoyed by the incredibly rude, unannounced arrival of Uzume earlier that evening. The Sekirei had practically broken through the front door, casually coming inside while aggressively dragging a reluctant boy along by his arm. The boy possessed a completely common, average-looking face that you could find just about anywhere, currently clad in his white Kuoh Academy school uniform blazer over his distinctive red shirt.

The moment they had crossed the threshold, they had immediately sat down at the table and started chowing down on the delicious meal she had just finished preparing.

Across the low table, another tenant of the inn, a striking, white-haired man with delicate, exceptionally handsome features, sweatdropped heavily at the sheer awkwardness of the situation.

"You two seriously have some unbelievable guts." The man, Kagari, muttered under his breath. He took a slow, lazy sip of his green tea, thoroughly enjoying his front-row seat to the unfolding disaster.

Meanwhile, entirely sealed away inside the quiet confines of Issei’s own mind. (Partner, I need you to be exceptionally careful around this woman.) Ddraig’s deep voice suddenly rumbled, carrying an uncharacteristic, highly alarming amount of caution.

Issei’s stomach instantly dropped into a bottomless pit. 'Wait, what? Why?! She’s just a regular old traditional landlady, right?'

(Do not underestimate her for even a single second, partner. Every single one of my instincts are screaming right now. She is exceptionally dangerous.)

A sudden, icy drop of cold sweat ran straight down Issei’s spine. His eyes subtly flickered upward, cautiously scanning Miya, who was still standing there with a polite, flawless smile... though up close, it wasn't reassuring in the slightest. 'Is she... is she an alien like Uzume?'

(I am not entirely certain of her species. But if she is... she is a whole different level of beast entirely, partner. I can feel a dormant pressure within her. She possesses enough raw power to completely kill you in an instant.)

Gulp.

'Message received loud and clear.' That internal warning brought a sudden, intensely nervous twitch to Issei's face as he forced himself to look back up at the beautiful, imposing landlady wrapped in her traditional clothing.

Miya, still intently watching his shifting expressions, tilted her head slightly, her reddish-brown eyes glinting. "Why exactly are you staring at me with a face like that, young man?"

Issei immediately jerked his gaze away, staring intently at his rice bowl. "N-No reason at all, Ma'am!"

Uzume, instantly sensing the dangerous spike in room tension, quickly swallowed her food and waved her hands to speak up. "So! Miya! Let me officially introduce you to my brand-new hubby!"

Miya’s eyes narrowed slightly, her pleasant smile tightening. "Your... hubby?"

Uzume grinned proudly, throwing an arm around Issei's shoulders. "Yup! He is my Ashikabi!"

Miya blinked once, processing the information. Then, maintaining a perfectly calm, pleasant, and utterly unbothered tone, she responded, "I see. I must admit, I never quite pegged you as the type to go for significantly younger men, Uzume."

Uzume simply shrugged her shoulders playfully, completely unbothered. "Hey, I've never really had a specific preference. Love is love, you know?"

Miya’s serene expression didn’t alter in the slightest. Instead, she smoothly shifted her piercing reddish-brown gaze directly toward Issei. "Introduce yourself properly, please."

Issei quickly scratched the back of his head, forcing a nervous, sheepish smile as he bowed from his spot. "Uh, right! My name is Issei Hyoudou. It's really nice to meet you, Ma'am."

"Nice to meet you as well. My name is Asama Miya," She replied with a polite, perfectly traditional nod.

Across from them, the handsome tenant gave a lazy, two-finger wave from his tea. "The name’s Kagari."

Issei nodded back politely. "Nice to meet you as well, Kagari-san." For some completely bizarre, inexplicable reason, even though the man sitting directly beside him was a glaringly handsome bastard, Issei surprisingly couldn't find it within himself to get annoyed by his looks. Weird.

Uzume suddenly spoke up again, her eyes sparkling. "Oh! And one more quick thing, Miya! Issei also needs a comfortable place to stay around here for a while!"

Miya’s eyes flickered like a hawk's back over to Issei. "Is that so?"

Issei bowed his head slightly once more, adopting a respectful tone. "If it's not too much of a burden or trouble for you, Ma'am, do you think I could rent a room here for exactly one month? After that time is up, I promise I'll be out of your hair and out of this city."

"Huh?!" Uzume gasped aloud, her jaw dropping as she gaped at him in total horror.

Miya’s lips instantly curled into a small, highly knowing, and deeply amused smile. ‘Ah. So she hasn't actually broken the news to him yet,’ Miya realized instantly, reading Uzume's panicked face like an open book. It was blindingly obvious to the landlady that the concept of being permanently locked inside Shinto Teito was complete news to Issei, and that Uzume had completely omitted the fact that he physically could not leave the city borders now that he was an active part of the MBI Sekirei Plan. Well, Miya reasoned, that was entirely Uzume’s own problem to solve regarding how she was going to convince her clueless new Ashikabi to stay.

Miya took a long, calculated moment to deliberate, tapping her chin before offering a firm nod. "Very well. This is an official boarding inn, after all. It would be against my policy to turn away a paying guest."

"Yes!" Uzume cheered loudly, clenching her fists in pure victory.

But before the Sekirei could celebrate a moment longer—

"However." The single word cut through the air like a blade as the entire kitchen went completely silent. Miya’s expression turned significantly more serious, a heavy, authoritative presence settling over her shoulders. "I have exactly three strict conditions that must be followed if you intend to reside under my roof, Issei-san."

Issei immediately sat up straighter, his posture correcting itself. "Right. I’m listening."

"First." Miya’s violet gaze sharpened to a lethal point, locking onto both of them simultaneously. "You two are not legally married. If you fully intend on sleeping inside the exact same room together, you must absolutely refrain from performing any manner of lewd, inappropriate, or scandalous acts under my roof. There are absolutely no exceptions to this rule. If you sleep in the same quarters, clothes will remain completely on at all times. No fondling. No hands-on misconduct. Am I understood?"

""Awww man!"" Both Issei and Uzume groaned aloud in perfect, miserable synchronization, their shoulders slumping forward onto the table.

Kagari suddenly snorted, nearly choking from his rice at the display. Miya simply smiled serenely at the pair, highly amused by how utterly identical the Sekirei and her new Ashikabi were when it came to their base, perverted desires.

"The second condition," Miya continued smoothly, "is that you are strictly expected to pay your rent on time. Of course, seeing as you are currently a student, I am fully prepared to ensure your payment is calculated at a significantly lower rate than the other adult tenants. That is, assuming you are still actively enrolled in school."

Hearing the mention of time and rent, Issei quickly initiated an urgent, hidden mental prompt. ‘Sherri, give me a status update. Exactly how long am I structurally forced to stay inside this specific world before the gate anchors shift?’

‘Calculating charging time. Issei, your presence here will last for exactly one month,’ Sherri’s voice smoothly reported back.

‘What?! A whole month?!’ Issei yelled internally, a wave of nervousness washing over his features. He forced a highly strained, sheepish smile onto his face as he looked back up at the landlady.

Issei winced slightly, rubbing the back of his neck. "Uh... yeah... about that specific detail, Miya-san."

Miya raised a perfectly manicured eyebrow. "Yes? Is there going to be an issue with your payment?"

"No, it's not that," Issei chuckled nervously, sweatdropping. "It's just... I’m kind of... on an extended and unexpected vacation at the exact moment."

Miya’s sharp reddish-brown eyes intensely studied his face, looking for any signs of deception. "A vacation?"

"Yeah, exactly," Issei lied smoothly, rubbing his arm. "But the absolute second this month-long vacation is over, I have to immediately head straight back home and get right back into my regular school schedule."

Miya’s advanced senses could easily tell that the boy wasn’t actively lying to her face, but there was still something profoundly strange and deeply mysterious about his specific choice of wording.

Uzume, meanwhile, was starting to sweat absolute bullets beside him, her heart hammering in pure panic. 'Crap, crap, crap! I still haven't told him that MBI has the entire city on lockdown and he literally can't leave! How the actual hell am I supposed to even start a conversation like that without making him hate me...?'

The Sekirei felt completely downhearted at the mere thought of having to explain the brutal mechanics of the tournament to him. That was going to be an incredibly tough pill for her to swallow.

Completely ignoring Uzume's internal crisis, Miya forged right ahead with her final decree.

"The third and final rule is that I fully expect you to actively help me out around the property, keeping the house perfectly neat, organized, and tidy. Can you strictly follow these rules while you reside here?"

Issei nodded vigorously, completely sincere as he bowed deeply from the waist. "Of course I can, Ma'am! I can handle chores easily. Seriously, thank you so much for letting me stay here on such short notice."

Miya’s stern expression completely melted away, returning to a soft, genuinely warm smile. "It is perfectly fine, Issei-san. My late husband always maintained a personal saying to never turn down anyone who truly needed help."

Issei smiled back warmly, feeling a genuine wave of relief. "Thank you so much, Miya-san. I really appreciate it."

Done. Tell me what you think and if I made any mistakes.